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On Today’s Gospel

Posted: September 16, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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What can be easier than to say I will pray for you? Then quickly say a short prayer lifting the intentions for the person lest we forget then feel guilty about it later; and be done with it once and for all. Well let me be first to admit this is what I started out doing till I started growing in faith and pondering my Lord’s will in everything. So then where is the love behind this very act of praying for someone? Where and what is the kind of faith that lies within us? How then will we ever begin to pray for our enemies let alone love them?

Intercessory prayer is not simply mouthing prayers for someone or on behalf of someone for specific intentions. It is praying with all our heart and mind so as to touch the heart of the Lord our God by our faith, love steadfastness and determination. To plead with Him to come and touch the lives of whom we offer our prayers for. To seek earnestly that His grace, love and mercy will be upon them. Therefore when we pray this way it can take days, weeks, months, even years! And so our prayer list increases over time. By praying thus we unite ourselves and share in the sufferings, the hopes and dreams of those we pray for. And so when our prayers for them are answered, we too can truly rejoice. Even then when our prayers are answered not quite in the way we had hoped, still peace will reign in our hearts. For we know that the Lord our God only desires the best for all of us.

Let us then pray for one another reverently, fervently with all our heart. And may our almighty and ever living God bless us, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Now and forever. Amen

First reading

1 Timothy 2:1-8 ·
Pray for everyone to God, who wants everyone to be saved

My advice is that, first of all, there should be prayers offered for everyone – petitions, intercessions and thanksgiving – and especially for kings and others in authority, so that we may be able to live religious and reverent lives in peace and quiet. To do this is right, and will please God our saviour: he wants everyone to be saved and reach full knowledge of the truth. For there is only one God, and there is only one mediator between God and mankind, himself a man, Christ Jesus, who sacrificed himself as a ransom for them all. He is the evidence of this, sent at the appointed time, and I have been named a herald and apostle of it and – I am telling the truth and no lie – a teacher of the faith and the truth to the pagans.
In every place, then, I want the men to lift their hands up reverently in prayer, with no anger or argument.

Gospel

Luke 7:1-10
Give the word, and my servant will be healed

When Jesus had come to the end of all he wanted the people to hear, he went into Capernaum. A centurion there had a servant, a favourite of his, who was sick and near death. Having heard about Jesus he sent some Jewish elders to him to ask him to come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus they pleaded earnestly with him. ‘He deserves this of you’ they said ‘because he is friendly towards our people; in fact, he is the one who built the synagogue.’ So Jesus went with them, and was not very far from the house when the centurion sent word to him by some friends: ‘Sir,’ he said ‘do not put yourself to trouble; because I am not worthy to have you under my roof; and for this same reason I did not presume to come to you myself; but give the word and let my servant be cured. For I am under authority myself, and have soldiers under me; and I say to one man: Go, and he goes; to another: Come here, and he comes; to my servant: Do this, and he does it.’ When Jesus heard these words he was astonished at him and, turning round, said to the crowd following him, ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I found faith like this.’ And when the messengers got back to the house they found the servant in perfect health.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: September 14, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Today as we gaze upon the crucifixes in our homes, around our necks, in our Parish, let us ponder over the word in John’s Gospel, the Son of Man must be lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. Indeed it is Not so much a symbol as it is a truth of God’s great love for us! Of how our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ suffered death to liberate us once for all from the clutches of sin. A victory over death and sin won for each and everyone of us by His very own death and Resurrection!

We are drawn to eternal life with Him, when we willingly take up our cross to follow Him. So on this feast day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, let our hearts and minds be also raised, as we set our sights to the Heavenly Banquet that awaits us through Christ our Lord. Amen

First reading

Numbers 21:4-9 ·
If anyone was bitten by a serpent, he looked up at the bronze serpent and lived

On the way through the wilderness the people lost patience. They spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in this wilderness? For there is neither bread nor water here; we are sick of this unsatisfying food.’
At this God sent fiery serpents among the people; their bite brought death to many in Israel. The people came and said to Moses, ‘We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede for us with the Lord to save us from these serpents.’ Moses interceded for the people, and the Lord answered him, ‘Make a fiery serpent and put it on a standard. If anyone is bitten and looks at it, he shall live.’ So Moses fashioned a bronze serpent which he put on a standard, and if anyone was bitten by a serpent, he looked at the bronze serpent and lived.

Gospel

John 3:13-17
God sent his Son so that through him the world might be saved

Jesus said to Nicodemus:

‘No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down from heaven,
the Son of Man who is in heaven; and the Son of Man must be lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.
Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life.
For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: September 13, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Why is it that we seem to see the faults and shortfalls of others ever so clearly yet see nothing of our own; let alone try to be and do better? If we cannot be faithful to friends and acquaintances by our comments when not in their presence, how can we be expected to be faithful to Jesus who sees or knows all whether or not we are aware of His presence?

We are ALL called to lead one another into Holiness even while there are some amongst us who are appointed leaders in our church or communities. If we do not lead others by example by attending daily Eucharist, going for Adoration and receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation as often as we can, how can we perfected by Christ to lead His flock? St Paul shares with us today as he will again this Sunday of how his own conversion began through Christ Jesus our Lord. He acknowledged his own wayward ways, his ignorance and arrogance if you will at one time. But through believe and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ there was a great outpouring of grace, mercy and love upon him which transformed him to be more and more like his master. Let us therefore acknowledge our own sinfulness, our need for the grace and strength of our Saviour Jesus Christ so that we too can be better Shepherds for His flock.

Amen

First reading

1 Timothy 1:1-2,12-14 ·
I used to be a blasphemer, but the mercy of God was shown me

From Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus appointed by the command of God our saviour and of Christ Jesus our hope, to Timothy, true child of mine in the faith; wishing you grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Lord.
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, and who judged me faithful enough to call me into his service even though I used to be a blasphemer and did all I could to injure and discredit the faith. Mercy, however, was shown me, because until I became a believer I had been acting in ignorance; and the grace of our Lord filled me with faith and with the love that is in Christ Jesus.

Gospel

Luke 6:39-42
Can the blind lead the blind?

Jesus told a parable to the disciples: ‘Can one blind man guide another? Surely both will fall into a pit? The disciple is not superior to his teacher; the fully trained disciple will always be like his teacher. Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, “Brother, let me take out the splinter that is in your eye,” when you cannot see the plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter that is in your brother’s eye.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: September 12, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Too hard it is to follow the loving ways of our Lord and His command to love. Formation after formation, retreat after retreat amounts to nothing if there is no change of heart, of will and fortitude to endeavour the trials of carrying the cross which we are to bear in love. How are we ever going to love our enemies when we cannot love our own family who knows how to push our buttons let alone to love our neighbour? How are we going to bless those who curse us when we are quick to curse them back so as not to fall victim? What about those who treat us badly or ‘slap’ us? ”Ooh I cannot wait for them to try and cross me again” we utter with vengeance in our heart. So indeed it is no effort at all to love those who love us in return!

The painful falls we took to learn to ride a bike, rollerblade (skate), the pains of riding a horse for the first time, the endurance of climbing/hiking up a mountain, the cuts, burns and criticisms when learning to cook, the long hours and hardships of completing a project, all of these at the very end brought us a great sense of accomplishment and overwhelming joy! In addition wonderful lasting memories. How much more will we receive when we love and endure all for Christ Jesus our Lord! It all begins with baby steps in His love. To endure a little more each day, putting on a small piece of cloth of love upon us each time, as a badge of our success. Before we know it we will have a full length cloak upon us, a woven tapestry of love.

Then we can truly sing high praises and hymns to the Lord our God with great gratitude of heart, for we would have become more like Him, compassionate, merciful, most of all loving. Amen Alleluia!

First reading

Colossians 3:12-17 ·
Be clothed in love

You are God’s chosen race, his saints; he loves you, and you should be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same. Over all these clothes, to keep them together and complete them, put on love. And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this that you were called together as parts of one body. Always be thankful.
Let the message of Christ, in all its richness, find a home with you. Teach each other, and advise each other, in all wisdom. With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms and hymns and inspired songs to God; and never say or do anything except in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Gospel

Luke 6:27-38
Love your enemies

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I say this to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To the man who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back from the man who robs you. Treat others as you would like them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks can you expect? For even sinners do that much. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount. Instead, love your enemies and do good, and lend without any hope of return. You will have a great reward, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: September 11, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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How does our loving Lord and God want us to live our lives? In poverty, hungry all the time and sorrowful? Nay! Afterall Jesus our Lord did say,”I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) We have life to the full indeed when we live in Him, with Him, for Him and for one another. Sounds simple enough? But as we very well know, it is far from simple.

There is nothing wrong with being rich, but are we rich for ourselves and our family alone? Have we enriched the lives of others? Do we see the poor and do nothing? There is nothing wrong with being well fed, but do we feed those who have nothing? Have we performed corporal and spiritual acts of mercy? There is nothing wrong with being joyful, but have we brought joy in the lives of others who are lonely, downtrodden, distraught? Have we shared the joy of knowing Christ with others?

Like all good things we need to work hard at and for it by setting our sights to Heaven as our only goal; for us, our families and all our dearly beloved sisters and brothers. We must strive for Holiness as we reject all sin, sinfulness and temptations. We must choose always to live in the light in which Christ had bought and paid for by laying down His life for us. In the same way how much of how we live our lives for others determines how Christ-like we become.

Jesus I want to live my life for You. Be with me, dwell in me, stay with me, now and forevermore. Amen

First reading

Colossians 3:1-11 ·
You must look for the things that are in heaven

Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth, because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ is revealed – and he is your life – you too will be revealed in all your glory with him.
That is why you must kill everything in you that belongs only to earthly life: fornication, impurity, guilty passion, evil desires and especially greed, which is the same thing as worshipping a false god; all this is the sort of behaviour that makes God angry. And it is the way in which you used to live when you were surrounded by people doing the same thing, but now you, of all people, must give all these things up: getting angry, being bad-tempered, spitefulness, abusive language and dirty talk; and never tell each other lies. You have stripped off your old behaviour with your old self, and you have put on a new self which will progress towards true knowledge the more it is renewed in the image of its creator; and in that image there is no room for distinction between Greek and Jew, between the circumcised or the uncircumcised, or between barbarian and Scythian, slave and free man. There is only Christ: he is everything and he is in everything.

Gospel

Luke 6:20-26
Happy are you who are poor, who are hungry, who weep

Fixing his eyes on his disciples Jesus said:

‘How happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God.
Happy you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied.
Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh.

Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, for then your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets.

‘But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now.
Alas for you who have your fill now: you shall go hungry.
Alas for you who laugh now: you shall mourn and weep.

‘Alas for you when the world speaks well of you! This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: September 10, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Our life in Christ began with prayer, it was through the prayer of the faithful that the Holy Spirit decended upon us at our baptism in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. We became God our Father’s children inserted into the life, death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Therefore prayer is central in the life of a Christian. What is prayer then?

Well there are many facets and many forms of prayer all of which lead us to into the loving embrace of the Lord our God in a ‘Heavenly Dance’ if you will. Our mouth whispers to the heart of God and the mouth of God whispers to our heart. Yes it is as simple as that and yet still many find it difficult to pray as if our Lord demands of us a certain form or discipline in order for us to speak with or hear Him. The only requirement in a sense is that we do so in the quiet. For it is in the quiet that He speaks to our heart. We can hear Him most clearly and profoundly. We are gradually led deeper and deeper into His bosom over time and as we seek Him more and more frequently.

Through prayer, prayerful contemplation of His Word, and often seeking to be in His presence, we become more like Him each and every day. Others will see us becoming more loving and merciful. Through Him we become powerful instruments of His grace for others.

I have no need to turn to anyone or to look anywhere else, all that I will ever need is to be found in You alone Jesus my Lord. Amen Alleluia!

First reading

Colossians 2:6-15 ·
The Lord has brought you to life with him

You must live your whole life according to the Christ you have received – Jesus the Lord; you must be rooted in him and built on him and held firm by the faith you have been taught, and full of thanksgiving.
Make sure that no one traps you and deprives you of your freedom by some second-hand, empty, rational philosophy based on the principles of this world instead of on Christ.
In his body lives the fullness of divinity, and in him you too find your own fulfilment, in the one who is the head of every Sovereignty and Power.
In him you have been circumcised, with a circumcision not performed by human hand, but by the complete stripping of your body of flesh. This is circumcision according to Christ. You have been buried with him, when you were baptised; and by baptism, too, you have been raised up with him through your belief in the power of God who raised him from the dead. You were dead, because you were sinners and had not been circumcised: he has brought you to life with him, he has forgiven us all our sins.
He has overridden the Law, and cancelled every record of the debt that we had to pay; he has done away with it by nailing it to the cross; and so he got rid of the Sovereignties and the Powers, and paraded them in public, behind him in his triumphal procession.

Gospel

Luke 6:12-19
Jesus chooses his twelve apostles

Jesus went out into the hills to pray; and he spent the whole night in prayer to God. When day came he summoned his disciples and picked out twelve of them; he called them ‘apostles’: Simon whom he called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot who became a traitor.
He then came down with them and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and from Jerusalem and from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon who had come to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. People tormented by unclean spirits were also cured, and everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him because power came out of him that cured them all.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: September 9, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Everyday is an oppoturnity to love, to give thanks and glory to God by loving others with the same love He first loved us. So how can we ask when is it a good time or place to do so? Only when it is convenient to do so? After all our Lord’s commandment was to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and to love one another as He had loved us.

Was the man’s condition in today’s Gospel dire? Was it life threathening? Could he not work to provide for himself with his other hand and feet? Was his withered hand the cause of any other ailments? If we are asking all these questions then we are missing the point completely! The Lord had told us ”It is love that I seek, and not sacrifice.” Hos 6:6 and again Matthew 9:13 ”Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’’ We are called to love beyond boundaries, to love without question.

In order to understand more deeply this call to love, we must look to the mystery of our Lord’s great love for us revealed through His life, death and resurrection. His love for ALL mankind not a select race or few. His desire that we have life and have it to the full. His hope that by our response to His Will for us we will share eternity with Him in His Heavenly Kingdom. It is our responsibility therefore to learn, teach, train and lead one another into the reality of life eternal with Him. Amen

First reading

Colossians 1:24-2:3 ·
God’s message was a mystery hidden for generations

It makes me happy to suffer for you, as I am suffering now, and in my own body to do what I can to make up all that has still to be undergone by Christ for the sake of his body, the Church. I became the servant of the Church when God made me responsible for delivering God’s message to you, the message which was a mystery hidden for generations and centuries and has now been revealed to his saints. It was God’s purpose to reveal it to them and to show all the rich glory of this mystery to pagans. The mystery is Christ among you, your hope of glory: this is the Christ we proclaim, this is the wisdom in which we thoroughly train everyone and instruct everyone, to make them all perfect in Christ. It is for this I struggle wearily on, helped only by his power driving me irresistibly.
Yes, I want you to know that I do have to struggle hard for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for so many others who have never seen me face to face. It is all to bind you together in love and to stir your minds, so that your understanding may come to full development, until you really know God’s secret in which all the jewels of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.

Gospel

Luke 6:6-11
Is it against the law on the sabbath to save life?

On the sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees were watching him to see if he would cure a man on the sabbath, hoping to find something to use against him. But he knew their thoughts; and he said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Stand up! Come out into the middle.’ And he came out and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, ‘I put it to you: is it against the law on the sabbath to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to destroy it?’ Then he looked round at them all and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He did so, and his hand was better. But they were furious, and began to discuss the best way of dealing with Jesus.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: September 7, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Every day we are faced with struggles and new challenges be it at work, home or with our faith. How do we cope? How do we make it through each day? How did we get through the day yesterday? Question really is who is in charge of your life? If you are in charge then yes you are subject to human limitations. But if our Lord is in charge and you subject yourself to His authority without question then you will be amazed at how things work out. How much more gets done in a day and still there is joy in your heart. At the end of the you are granted a peaceful rest.

Therefore we should always begin our awakening with prayer, calling for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. For His counsel throughout the day. We praise and thank God for the new day and the opportunities to glorify Him through the challenges of the day. Through Him and with Him, we will persevere, grow and walk blameless in His sight. We therefore submit ourselves this day and everyday to His Holy Will for us. Amen

First reading

Colossians 1:21-23 ·
God has reconciled you by Christ’s death in his mortal body

Not long ago, you were foreigners and enemies, in the way that you used to think and the evil things that you did; but now he has reconciled you, by his death and in that mortal body. Now you are able to appear before him holy, pure and blameless – as long as you persevere and stand firm on the solid base of the faith, never letting yourselves drift away from the hope promised by the Good News, which you have heard, which has been preached to the whole human race, and of which I, Paul, have become the servant.

Gospel

Luke 6:1-5
The Son of Man is master of the sabbath

One sabbath Jesus happened to be taking a walk through the cornfields, and his disciples were picking ears of corn, rubbing them in their hands and eating them. Some of the Pharisees said, ‘Why are you doing something that is forbidden on the sabbath day?’ Jesus answered them, ‘So you have not read what David did when he and his followers were hungry how he went into the house of God, took the loaves of offering and ate them and gave them to his followers, loaves which only the priests are allowed to eat?’ And he said to them, ‘The Son of Man is master of the sabbath.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: September 6, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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There is and must always be discipline and order in the way we conduct ourselves since we are created in the likeness and image of the Lord our God who created the world and breathed order into it. So too there is order in the way we worship, therefore we embrace and follow the sacred traditions handed down to us.

However above all and above all created things is Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Hence all that we say or do whether in matters of worship, administrative or pastoral must be centred primarily on Him of whom we love and who first loved us. Everything must be built upon the foundation of our rock and this can only be so through and ever growing, deepening relationship with our Lord and God Jesus Christ.

Jesus my Lord, You are the source of all life. You first born of creation and first born of the dead; by Your very life, death and resurrection You have opened the gates of Heaven for us and so we have hope of eternal life with You. Help us to remain true and focused on the prize that awaits us at the very end of our trials and tribulations. Amen

First reading

Colossians 1:15-20 ·
All things were created through Christ and for Christ

Christ Jesus is the image of the unseen God
and the first-born of all creation, for in him were created all things in heaven and on earth: everything visible and everything invisible, Thrones, Domination, Sovereignties, Powers – all things were created through him and for him.
Before anything was created, he existed, and he holds all things in unity. Now the Church is his body, he is its head.

As he is the Beginning,
he was first to be born from the dead, so that he should be first in every way; because God wanted all perfection to be found in him
and all things to be reconciled through him and for him, everything in heaven and everything on earth, when he made peace
by his death on the cross.

Gospel

Luke 5:33-39
When the bridegroom is taken from them, then they will fast

The Pharisees and the scribes said to Jesus, ‘John’s disciples are always fasting and saying prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees too, but yours go on eating and drinking.’ Jesus replied, ‘Surely you cannot make the bridegroom’s attendants fast while the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come, the time for the bridegroom to be taken away from them; that will be the time when they will fast.’
He also told them this parable, ‘No one tears a piece from a new cloak to put it on an old cloak; if he does, not only will he have torn the new one, but the piece taken from the new will not match the old.
‘And nobody puts new wine into old skins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and then run out, and the skins will be lost. No; new wine must be put into fresh skins. And nobody who has been drinking old wine wants new. “The old is good” he says.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: September 5, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Who are you before the Lord our God?
The answer to this question determines where your faith and your relationship with Him lie therein. So ponder over this slowly and carefully.

It is far too easy to cry I want to follow Him! However before we can really do so, we need to know who we are before the Lord our God. Otherwise it is simply lip service while we hold on to full control of all that we say and do! Hence the key to following Him as we read at the very end of today’s Gospel is to leave everything behind. We have to leave behind first and foremost all our Sins, sinfulness behind us, our earthly attachments, our prideful ways, our self reliance on everything , the grandeur of thinking we have more knowledge and are better than others.

Yes we must first acknowledge that we are all sinners in need of His mercy and grace as we cry out to Him, ”Lord have mercy on me a sinner.” Through His mercy and grace as when we were first baptised we are perfectly cleansed of our sins. We can then strive to sin no more! For through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ we have been set free to live fully in His love. We can live as children so loved by God our Heavenly Father; We seek to strengthen and grow our relationship with Him day by day. Through prayer and the indwelling of His Word. By our love (agape) in action and the sharing of the word we draw others unto Him. Men and women caught up in the net of His everlasting love. Amen

First reading

Colossians 1:9-14 ·
God has taken us out of the power of darkness

Ever since the day we heard about you, we have never failed to pray for you, and what we ask God is that through perfect wisdom and spiritual understanding you should reach the fullest knowledge of his will. So you will be able to lead the kind of life which the Lord expects of you, a life acceptable to him in all its aspects; showing the results in all the good actions you do and increasing your knowledge of God. You will have in you the strength, based on his own glorious power, never to give in, but to bear anything joyfully, thanking the Father who has made it possible for you to join the saints and with them to inherit the light.
Because that is what he has done: he has taken us out of the power of darkness and created a place for us in the kingdom of the Son that he loves, and in him, we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins.

Gospel

Luke 5:1-11
They left everything and followed him

Jesus was standing one day by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the crowd pressing round him listening to the word of God, when he caught sight of two boats close to the bank. The fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats – it was Simon’s – and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
When he had finished speaking he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch.’ ‘Master,’ Simon replied, ‘we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.’ And when they had done this they netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear, so they signalled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them; when these came, they filled the two boats to sinking point.
When Simon Peter saw this he fell at the knees of Jesus saying, ‘Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man.’ For he and all his companions were completely overcome by the catch they had made; so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were Simon’s partners. But Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch.’ Then, bringing their boats back to land, they left everything and followed him.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: September 4, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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We need to renew our interior life constantly through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ who loves us immensely. Otherwise we will be caught up with our own selfish inclinations, consumerism and myopic Sunday Catholic faith. We are unlikely to look beyond our immediate family concerns let alone care for the poor and downtrodden.

So what does a grace filled life in Jesus Christ look like? Well for one it is filled with His peace and joy. It is always outward looking seeking to build His Kingdom through the sharing and proclamation of the Good News that we all share in a life lived for Him and in Him. We pray for and live for the goodness of one another. Sin and sinfulness is rebuked in His name as we strive towards holiness.

Recently a dear sister and brother in Christ whose son just recently came out of the woods from being stricken with cancer for a second time, is working hard to help an eleven year old girl from Batam who is in dire need of a bone marrow transplant which cost an obscene amount of money! The young family were strangers to them and yet they reached out with love and compassion. Never mind that they themselves have been put through the mill so to speak, by their constant worry for their own son who has not fully recovered. This is the kind of heroic faith we speak about which is only to be found in and through our Lord Jesus Christ!

So please join me in prayer for this little girl Chorinda from Batam and many like her who suffer the indignity of cancer, and for folks like Vincent and Marilyn who set aside their own struggles to help others like them, all for the glory of God.

Lord Jesus let me live for You and when it is time let me die for You. Amen

First reading

Colossians 1:1-8 ·
The message of the truth has reached you and is spreading all over the world

From Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy to the saints in Colossae, our faithful brothers in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
We have never failed to remember you in our prayers and to give thanks for you to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ever since we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you show towards all the saints because of the hope which is stored up for you in heaven. It is only recently that you heard of this, when it was announced in the message of the truth. The Good News which has reached you is spreading all over the world and producing the same results as it has among you ever since the day when you heard about God’s grace and understood what this really is. Epaphras, who taught you, is one of our closest fellow workers and a faithful deputy for us as Christ’s servant, and it was he who told us all about your love in the Spirit.

Gospel

Luke 4:38-44
He would not allow them to speak because they knew he was the Christ

Leaving the synagogue, Jesus went to Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever and they asked him to do something for her. Leaning over her he rebuked the fever and it left her. And she immediately got up and began to wait on them.
At sunset all those who had friends suffering from diseases of one kind or another brought them to him, and laying his hands on each he cured them. Devils too came out of many people, howling, ‘You are the Son of God.’ But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ.
When daylight came he left the house and made his way to a lonely place. The crowds went to look for him, and when they had caught up with him they wanted to prevent him leaving them, but he answered, ‘I must proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God to the other towns too, because that is what I was sent to do.’ And he continued his preaching in the synagogues of Judaea.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: September 3, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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(notice how the possessed man is dressed in this depiction)

We are all very busy people looking forward to the end of day, to unwind a little if possible before retiring for bed. For those with children who are still very young it’s a little more challenging to unwind. This goes on day after day till perhaps the weekend repreive. The thing is where is the Lord our God in all our busyness? There is simply no time? Or not enough time in a day? What about those in need whom can they turn to, whom can they rely on since everyone is too busy? We might say we have no time for our Lord at this point in our lives, yet many can make time for their mobile, computer games, television, netflix, secular books and many other forms of distractions. And yet there is only One who offers and can give us true peace, joy and contentment!

In a sense perhaps we have a dark spirit within us, one which seeks to confuse and distract us from what is truly important. To stop us from growing in Holiness and in our relationship from the Lord our God. Whether or not there is really one such spirit within us, any and all spirits know as we should the Holy one of God! For He is the Lord God almighty above all things visible and invisible. Perhaps we were blinded or have allowed ourselves to be so, but so long as our hearts cry out to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ He will free us from all bondages and sin. So that we can truly live life to the full according to His will for us.

That is why it is so important for all of us to belong to a community of like minded believers in Jesus Christ our Lord, so that we can pray, affirm and encourage one another towards greater Holiness. To keep us accountable and focussed; as we stay awake and alert for His coming or our eventual return into His Heavenly embrace. So let us keep faith burning in our hearts. Amen

St Gregory the Great pray for us….

First reading

1 Thessalonians 5:1-6,9-11 ·
Keep strengthening one another

You will not be expecting us to write anything to you, brothers, about ‘times and seasons’, since you know very well that the Day of the Lord is going to come like a thief in the night. It is when people are saying, ‘How quiet and peaceful it is’ that the worst suddenly happens, as suddenly as labour pains come on a pregnant woman; and there will be no way for anybody to evade it.
But it is not as if you live in the dark, my brothers, for that Day to overtake you like a thief. No, you are all sons of light and sons of the day: we do not belong to the night or to darkness, so we should not go on sleeping, as everyone else does, but stay wide awake and sober. God never meant us to experience the Retribution, but to win salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that, alive or dead, we should still live united to him. So give encouragement to each other, and keep strengthening one another, as you do already.

Gospel

Luke 4:31-37
‘I know who you are: the Holy One of God’

Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because he spoke with authority.
In the synagogue there was a man who was possessed by the spirit of an unclean devil, and it shouted at the top of its voice, ‘Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus said sharply, ‘Be quiet! Come out of him!’ And the devil, throwing the man down in front of everyone, went out of him without hurting him at all. Astonishment seized them and they were all saying to one another, ‘What teaching! He gives orders to unclean spirits with authority and power and they come out.’ And reports of him went all through the surrounding countryside.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: September 2, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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The long awaited Messiah foretold was fulfilled in Christ Jesus our Lord, His arrival was proclaimed by the angels and at the right time He announced His own coming and His mission, which was accompanied by signs and wonders yet the world did not embrace Him and this truth. Still it did not change the reality.

Whether others believe or not, it does not change the reality that Jesus Christ our Lord is the Lord of lords, King of kings. By His life, death and resurrection we have life to the full and for all eterntity. And so we must have such conviction of faith in our risen Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Yes our faith will be tested time and time again as we face an uncertain future in the world we live in, with all its trials and tribulations. Yet we must set our sights on heaven, to the reality of life with our risen Lord that awaits us; for those of us who believe and know this to be true.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, I trust in You now and forevermore. Amen

First reading

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 ·
Do not grieve about those who have died in Jesus

We want you to be quite certain, brothers, about those who have died, to make sure that you do not grieve about them, like the other people who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus: God will bring them with him. We can tell you this from the Lord’s own teaching, that any of us who are left alive until the Lord’s coming will not have any advantage over those who have died. At the trumpet of God, the voice of the archangel will call out the command and the Lord himself will come down from heaven; those who have died in Christ will be the first to rise, and then those of us who are still alive will be taken up in the clouds, together with them; to meet the Lord in the air. So we shall stay with the Lord for ever. With such thoughts as these you should comfort one another.

Gospel

Luke 4:16-30
‘This text is being fulfilled today, even as you listen’

Jesus came to Nazara, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day as he usually did. He stood up to read and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll he found the place where it is written:

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me,
for he has anointed me.
He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour.

He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. And all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to speak to them, ‘This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.’ And he won the approval of all, and they were astonished by the gracious words that came from his lips. They said, ‘This is Joseph’s son, surely?’
But he replied, ‘No doubt you will quote me the saying, “Physician, heal yourself” and tell me, “We have heard all that happened in Capernaum, do the same here in your own countryside.”’
And he went on, ‘I tell you solemnly, no prophet is ever accepted in his own country.
‘There were many widows in Israel, I can assure you, in Elijah’s day, when heaven remained shut for three years and six months and a great famine raged throughout the land, but Elijah was not sent to any one of these: he was sent to a widow at Zarephath, a Sidonian town. And in the prophet Elisha’s time there were many lepers in Israel, but none of these was cured, except the Syrian, Naaman.’
When they heard this everyone in the synagogue was enraged. They sprang to their feet and hustled him out of the town; and they took him up to the brow of the hill their town was built on, intending to throw him down the cliff, but he slipped through the crowd and walked away.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 30, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Time and time again we are called to Holiness for the good of the Lord our God? Nay sisters and brothers for our own good. So that we may partake fully in the Lord’s goodness. Holiness demands sacrifice and a will bent on resisting sin at all cost. So then are we at this very moment reflecting the image and likeness of God of whom we are created from? Are we living authentic lives of love and service of and for one another?

Next to the sin of pride, one of the most heinous and prevalent sin in our society is the sin of lust. It does not help that social media, television, movies, games and soundtracks are filled with ideas of loose living, immoral activities and creative ideas for immodesty! Human dignity is stripped and the person is one to be objectified. Other Sins easily follow to fill us up to the point of our own destruction.

So let us make a decision this very day if we are going to leave our ‘lamps’ empty of the love of God? Devoid of His mercy and grace? Do we continue to live selfish meaningless lives? Or do we choose instead to fill our lamps with the ‘oil’ of His love, filled with corporal and spiritual acts of mercy for one another. Filled with the Holy Spirit such that we love as we are called to love and to lead one another home to Him. Surely He will take us by the hand and lead us into His heavenly kingdom.

Oh Holy Spirit sanctify me, that I may be a worthy instrument of Your love. Amen

First reading

1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 ·
What God wants is for you all to be holy

Brothers, we urge you and appeal to you in the Lord Jesus to make more and more progress in the kind of life that you are meant to live: the life that God wants, as you learnt from us, and as you are already living it. You have not forgotten the instructions we gave you on the authority of the Lord Jesus.
What God wants is for you all to be holy. He wants you to keep away from fornication, and each one of you to know how to use the body that belongs to him in a way that is holy and honourable, not giving way to selfish lust like the pagans who do not know God. He wants nobody at all ever to sin by taking advantage of a brother in these matters; the Lord always punishes sins of that sort, as we told you before and assured you. We have been called by God to be holy, not to be immoral; in other words, anyone who objects is not objecting to a human authority, but to God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

Gospel

Matthew 25:1-13
The wise and foolish virgins

Jesus told this parable to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of heaven will be like this: Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were sensible: the foolish ones did take their lamps, but they brought no oil, whereas the sensible ones took flasks of oil as well as their lamps. The bridegroom was late, and they all grew drowsy and fell asleep. But at midnight there was a cry, “The bridegroom is here! Go out and meet him.” At this, all those bridesmaids woke up and trimmed their lamps, and the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, “Give us some of your oil: our lamps are going out.” But they replied, “There may not be enough for us and for you; you had better go to those who sell it and buy some for yourselves.” They had gone off to buy it when the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding hall and the door was closed. The other bridesmaids arrived later. “Lord, Lord,” they said “open the door for us.” But he replied, “I tell you solemnly, I do not know you.” So stay awake, because you do not know either the day or the hour.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 29, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Who are the Herodias’ in our lives that keep us rooted in our sins? Who keeps us living in a fog of obscurity? Who feeds us with evil thoughts as we give in to our base inclinations? How easy it is then that as a result’ the Salomes’ of the world can entice us such that we are willing to forgo our souls! Who is it that will actually lose their head for all eternity? For God’s justice will prevail always!

We only have ourselves to blame if we Do Not CHOOSE to walk blameless before the Lord our God. If we refuse to hear His call to repentance so as to grow in Holiness. To rid ourselves of all evil thoughts and desires by living according to His Word. We most certainly can overcome all obstacles, challenges and evil; Through and by the love and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ who desires that we be with Him for all eternity. For He conquered death and sin so that we might live life to the full in Him.

Let us strive then to live our lives with and in His grace. Let us encourage one another to grow in love and holiness as we journey on home to Him. May He so confirm our hearts in holiness that we may be blameless in the sight of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus Christ comes with all His saints.

Lord You are my Shepherd there is nothing I shall want. Amen

First reading

1 Thessalonians 3:7-13 ·
Now we can breathe again, as you are still holding firm in the Lord

Brothers, your faith has been a great comfort to us in the middle of our own troubles and sorrows; now we can breathe again, as you are still holding firm in the Lord. How can we thank God enough for you, for all the joy we feel before our God on your account? We are earnestly praying night and day to be able to see you face to face again and make up any shortcomings in your faith.
May God our Father himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, make it easy for us to come to you. May the Lord be generous in increasing your love and make you love one another and the whole human race as much as we love you. And may he so confirm your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless in the sight of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus Christ comes with all his saints.

Gospel

Mark 6:17-29
The beheading of John the Baptist

Herod sent to have John arrested, and had him chained up in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife whom he had married. For John had told Herod, ‘It is against the law for you to have your brother’s wife.’ As for Herodias, she was furious with him and wanted to kill him; but she was not able to, because Herod was afraid of John, knowing him to be a good and holy man, and gave him his protection. When he had heard him speak he was greatly perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him.
An opportunity came on Herod’s birthday when he gave a banquet for the nobles of his court, for his army officers and for the leading figures in Galilee. When the daughter of this same Herodias came in and danced, she delighted Herod and his guests; so the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me anything you like and I will give it you.’ And he swore her an oath, ‘I will give you anything you ask, even half my kingdom.’ She went out and said to her mother, ‘What shall I ask for?’ She replied, ‘The head of John the Baptist.’ The girl hurried straight back to the king and made her request, ‘I want you to give me John the Baptist’s head, here and now, on a dish.’ The king was deeply distressed but, thinking of the oaths he had sworn and of his guests, he was reluctant to break his word to her. So the king at once sent one of the bodyguard with orders to bring John’s head. The man went off and beheaded him in prison; then he brought the head on a dish and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 28, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Not easy to listen and hear the Word of God which pierces the hearts of many so that change might take place from within. So much so that some have chosen to preach only about the Saints whose feast day we celebrate in hopes perhaps that more will be moved to change by emulating their lives.

Yes those who choose to live only exterior lives of Holiness, piety but have little or no true love of God or His people will bring about curses upon themselves by their actions whether or not they are concealed! For God sees within us all. In this day and age murder of the prophets as spoken in the Gospel does not and will not take place you might say. What about character assassination? Defamation? Do they not murder the spirit of their intended targets or the Holiness of the community? How many priests and modern day prophets have suffered at the hands of those who gossip and plot against them? How many who speak up for truth were silenced or dealt with by the higher echelon?

St Paul reminds us how to live according to the teachings of Christ who once said that the greatest among you must be your servant. Any one who exalts himself will be humbled and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted. That we should work hard and not rely on anyone as to be obligated in such a way that we are not free to proclaim the Good news and work for the glory of the Lord our God. Having heard the Word of God we must live our lives worthily and in the Spirit, whose power will effect change in our lives as well of those who will come to believe. For the Lord draws His faithful unto Himself. Amen

St Augustine pray for us….

First reading

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 ·
We slaved night and day so as not to be a burden on any one of you

Let me remind you, brothers, how hard we used to work, slaving night and day so as not to be a burden on any one of you while we were proclaiming God’s Good News to you. You are witnesses, and so is God, that our treatment of you, since you became believers, has been impeccably right and fair. You can remember how we treated every one of you as a father treats his children, teaching you what was right, encouraging you and appealing to you to live a life worthy of God, who is calling you to share the glory of his kingdom. Another reason why we constantly thank God for you is that as soon as you heard the message that we brought you as God’s message, you accepted it for what it really is, God’s message and not some human thinking; and it is still a living power among you who believe it.

Gospel

Matthew 23:27-32
You are the sons of those who murdered the prophets

Jesus said: ‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who are like whitewashed tombs that look handsome on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of corruption. In the same way you appear to people from the outside like good honest men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who build the sepulchres of the prophets and decorate the tombs of holy men, saying, “We would never have joined in shedding the blood of the prophets, had we lived in our fathers’ day.” So! Your own evidence tells against you! You are the sons of those who murdered the prophets! Very well then, finish off the work that your fathers began.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 27, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Recently our archbishop wrote about his encounter with a few young people who were sporting studs and tattoos. He shared they were wonderful, good natured, talented and hard working. Prayerfully no one read it and decided that they too would get tattoos *grins* And I too have encountered similar folks in my own parish. I remember distinctly giving a talk one year on encountering God through prayer for some primary 4 (junior) parents and at the very end of the talk only one pair came up to me to thank me for the talk and they were the ones who had tattoos all over. Today’s Gospel says it all! It is what is on the inside that counts. How the Lord our God had changed us from within and is continuing to work in us through His grace.

Many are still very much more concerned with appearances. Even church leaders are not exempt from this form of insecurity. They want to be respected and carry an air about them which they mistake to be spirit filled. St Paul reminds us however that we should be unassuming in our disposition with hearts only after our Lord Jesus Christ. So that in all things we bring glory alone to Him. Let us strive therefore to continually renew ourselves through the power of the Holy Spirit and to frequent the sacraments. So that docile to His promptings we give glory to God in all we say and do.

Jesus I am Yours. Amen

St. Monica pray for us…..

First reading

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 ·
We were eager to hand over to you not only the Good News but our whole lives

You know yourselves, my brothers, that our visit to you has not proved ineffectual.
We had, as you know, been given rough treatment and been grossly insulted at Philippi, and it was our God who gave us the courage to proclaim his Good News to you in the face of great opposition. We have not taken to preaching because we are deluded, or immoral, or trying to deceive anyone; it was God who decided that we were fit to be entrusted with the Good News, and when we are speaking, we are not trying to please men but God, who can read our inmost thoughts. You know very well, and we can swear it before God, that never at any time have our speeches been simply flattery, or a cover for trying to get money; nor have we ever looked for any special honour from men, either from you or anybody else, when we could have imposed ourselves on you with full weight, as apostles of Christ.
Instead, we were unassuming. Like a mother feeding and looking after her own children, we felt so devoted and protective towards you, and had come to love you so much, that we were eager to hand over to you not only the Good News but our whole lives as well.

Gospel

Matthew 23:23-26
Clean the inside of the cup first, so that the outside may become clean

Jesus said: ‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who pay your tithe of mint and dill and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law – justice, mercy, good faith! These you should have practised, without neglecting the others. You blind guides! Straining out gnats and swallowing camels!
‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who clean the outside of cup and dish and leave the inside full of extortion and intemperance. Blind Pharisee! Clean the inside of cup and dish first so that the outside may become clean as well.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 26, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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You can see the stark contrast between the worshippers of the Lord our God in the first reading and those spoken of in the Gospel. The first have surrendered their all to Him, have built up their relationship with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ through prayer, the Word lived out in their lives and the sharing of His love with the community. Then each new community is built upon the teachings and foundation of the old. The Lord Himself adds to their numbers.

The latter however have only an idea of who the Lord their God is and how they think they should live out their faith in Him ritualistically. There is no depth of understanding neither is there the required love that goes into the worship of the Lord their God. What lessons then will they have taught their followers in the ways of God? What would their children have learnt? How then can the Love for God grow in their hearts? How can they love one another as they ought to when they have not experienced His love the way they are meant to? They have shut themselves out from encountering Him in the deep personal way that He wants them to. Do we not have such leaders or parishioners in our Church today?

Lord Jesus be my guide in all I say and do, let my heart burn for love of You; such that the fire of Your love will spread to all You have sent my way. Amen

First reading

1 Thessalonians 1:1-5,8-10 ·
You broke with idolatry when you were converted to God

From Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, to the Church in Thessalonika which is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; wishing you grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We always mention you in our prayers and thank God for you all, and constantly remember before God our Father how you have shown your faith in action, worked for love and persevered through hope, in our Lord Jesus Christ.
We know, brothers, that God loves you and that you have been chosen, because when we brought the Good News to you, it came to you not only as words, but as power and as the Holy Spirit and as utter conviction. And you observed the sort of life we lived when we were with you, which was for your instruction, since it was from you that the word of the Lord started to spread – and not only throughout Macedonia and Achaia, for the news of your faith in God has spread everywhere. We do not need to tell other people about it: other people tell us how we started the work among you, how you broke with idolatry when you were converted to God and became servants of the real, living God; and how you are now waiting for Jesus, his Son, whom he raised from the dead, to come from heaven to save us from the retribution which is coming.

Gospel

Matthew 23:13-22
Alas for you, blind guides!

Jesus said: ‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who shut up the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces, neither going in yourselves nor allowing others to go in who want to.
‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who travel over sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when you have him you make him twice as fit for hell as you are.
‘Alas for you, blind guides! You who say, “If a man swears by the Temple, it has no force; but if a man swears by the gold of the Temple, he is bound.” Fools and blind! For which is of greater worth, the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? Or else, “If a man swears by the altar it has no force; but if a man swears by the offering that is on the altar, he is bound.” You blind men! For which is of greater worth, the offering or the altar that makes the offering sacred? Therefore, when a man swears by the altar he is swearing by that and by everything on it. And when a man swears by the Temple he is swearing by that and by the One who dwells in it. And when a man swears by heaven he is swearing by the throne of God and by the One who is seated there.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 24, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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How wonderful it will be to hear Jesus say to us, ”Ah here comes my disciple who had spoke the truth and strived for holiness come dine with your master.” Then we might say, ” ”Lord You know who I am?” and He will reply, ”Yes, how often have I seen and heard you praying to me. I know how you have struggled to do my will always therefore the gates of heaven are opened to you.”

How have we progressed in deepening our relationship with the Lord our God and living our faith in Him from the start of the year? Have we truly been striving to lead our families and one another closer to this heavenly reality? We are already past the halfway mark for the year closing in on Advent have we stayed awake? Ready to greet our Lord when He returns?

My Lord, my God, from my heart; I’ve come to do Your Will. Amen

Saint Bartholomew pray for us…

First reading

Apocalypse 21:9-14 ·
He showed me Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God out of heaven

The angel came to speak to me, and said, ‘Come here and I will show you the bride that the Lamb has married.’ In the spirit, he took me to the top of an enormous high mountain and showed me Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God out of heaven. It had all the radiant glory of God and glittered like some precious jewel of crystal-clear diamond. The walls of it were of a great height, and had twelve gates; at each of the twelve gates there was an angel, and over the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel; on the east there were three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. The city walls stood on twelve foundation stones, each one of which bore the name of one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Gospel

John 1:45-51
You will see heaven laid open, and the Son of Man

Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, the one about whom the prophets wrote: he is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.’ ‘From Nazareth?’ said Nathanael ‘Can anything good come from that place?’ ‘Come and see’ replied Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael coming he said of him, ‘There is an Israelite who deserves the name, incapable of deceit.’ ‘How do you know me?’ said Nathanael. ‘Before Philip came to call you,’ said Jesus ‘I saw you under the fig tree.’ Nathanael answered, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.’ Jesus replied, ‘You believe that just because I said: I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.’ And then he added ‘I tell you most solemnly, you will see heaven laid open and, above the Son of Man, the angels of God ascending and descending.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 23, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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If we declare that we love the Lord our God with all our heart. Then we would have already entered into a deep and personal relationship with Him. We are fully aware of His abundant love for us individually as well as collectively. We should therefore love ourselves as uniquely created in the image and likeness of our Lord and God. And it is through His love and with that same love for ourselves that we are called to love others.

Love not as an emotion but love that wills the good of another. One that wills that the other have joy and peace in their hearts. Love that is faithful to the end. In a sense to love when no one else can and will. Such great love can only come from our faithful ever loving God. A love which gives us the strength, power and fortitude to put that love into action for His glory. His mercy flows most profoundly from such radical love. And we have witnessed this in the many lives touched by the Saints who had responded wholly to that call to love, most recent of which are St John Paul II, St Theresa of Calculta.

We can witness the making of such Saints in our midst too, Parents who care lovingly for their helpless child, especially those with special needs, sons and daughters who care for their aged parents, especially those who are sick, suffering terminally, struggling with dementia, those who care for the outcast and downtrodden in society to name a few.

Sweet heart of Jesus reign in my heart. Let my love not be one of speech alone but one put into action for love of You. Through my love may all encounter Your love for them. Amen

First reading

Ruth 1:1,3-6,14-16,22 ·
Ruth the Moabitess is brought to Bethlehem by Naomi

In the days of the Judges famine came to the land and a certain man from Bethlehem of Judah went – he, his wife and his two sons – to live in the country of Moab. Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died, and she and her two sons were left. These married Moabite women: one was named Orpah and the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years. Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died and the woman was bereft of her two sons and her husband. So she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law and went back to her people. But Ruth clung to her.
Naomi said to her, ‘Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her god. You must return too; follow your sister-in-law.’
But Ruth said, ‘Do not press me to leave you and to turn back from your company, for

‘wherever you go, I will go,
wherever you live, I will live.
Your people shall be my people,
and your God, my God.’

This was how Naomi, she who returned from the country of Moab, came back with Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

Gospel

Matthew 22:34-40
The commandments of love

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees they got together and, to disconcert him, one of them put a question, ‘Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?’ Jesus said, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 22, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Let our yes be yes and our no be no. Why do we think we can barter with the Lord our God or bargain with Him? Or even have the need to? Perhaps we have chosen not to grow in our relationship with Him? We do not yet realise just how much He truly loves us and wants only the best for us. All He wants from us is faithfulness and obedience unto Him. To grow in His love and live in His peace together as His children.

And so what are we doing now to prepare ourselves for the wedding feast in heaven? How have we responded to the invitation to put on the wedding garment that is to grow in Holiness, in mercy, charity and love? Have we chucked away the invitation by the busyness in all matters of our heart’s desires? Have we inadvertently declined the invitation to life eternal with Him? How have we treated the sister and brother who was sent to lead us into home to Him? How is it our hearts and minds are not wrapped round the awesome mind blowing fact that we have been given the unique privilege and honour of attending it to begin with?

Lord Jesus indeed You have called and I respond with all my heart, mind and soul. Allow me to stand as one of your chosen. Amen

Dearest Blessed mother and Queen of Heaven pray for us…..

First reading

Judges 11:29-39 ·
Jephthah sacrifices his daughter in fulfilment of a vow

The spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah, who crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through to Mizpah in Gilead, and from Mizpah in Gilead made his way to the rear of the Ammonites. And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, ‘If you deliver the Ammonites into my hands, then the first person to meet me from the door of my house when I return in triumph from fighting the Ammonites shall belong to the Lord, and I will offer him up as a holocaust. Jephthah marched against the Ammonites to attack them, and the Lord delivered them into his power. He harassed them from Aroer almost to Minnith (twenty towns) and to Abel-keramim. It was a very severe defeat, and the Ammonites were humbled before the Israelites.
As Jephthah returned to his house at Mizpah, his daughter came out from it to meet him; she was dancing to the sound of timbrels. This was his only child; apart from her he had neither son nor daughter. When he saw her, he tore his clothes and exclaimed, ‘Oh my daughter, what sorrow you are bringing me! Must it be you, the cause of my ill-fortune! I have given a promise to the Lord, and I cannot unsay what I have said.’ She answered him, ‘My father, you have given a promise to the Lord; treat me as the vow you took binds you to, since the Lord has given you vengeance on your enemies the Ammonites.’ Then she said to her father, ‘Grant me one request. Let me be free for two months. I shall go and wander in the mountains, and with my companions bewail my virginity.’ He answered, ‘Go’, and let her depart for two months. So she went away with her companions and bewailed her virginity in the mountains. When the two months were over, she returned to her father, and he treated her as the vow that he had uttered bound him. She had never known a man.

Gospel

Matthew 22:1-14
Invite everyone you can to the wedding

Jesus began to speak to the chief priests and elders of the people in parables: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son’s wedding. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. Next he sent some more servants. “Tell those who have been invited” he said “that I have my banquet all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding.” But they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. The king was furious. He despatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town. Then he said to his servants, “The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, go to the crossroads in the town and invite everyone you can find to the wedding.” So these servants went out on to the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests. When the king came in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment, and said to him, “How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?” And the man was silent. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 21, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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We are all called to labour to build the Kingdom of God. And His kingdom is built upon the hearts of His children in the salvation of souls. There are many opportunities and ways to do this but all we need is to respond to the call. All else will be provided for. How then do we respond to this call? Do we agree to do so only when promised a fair return? Then later on grumble expecting more for the long hours in doing so? Comparing our blessings with others who seem to work far less? Or do we respond with joy in our hearts just for being given the opportunity to labour in His love! Not concerned with returns only that we trust in Him and work to glorify the Lord our God in all that we say and do.

Some of us will be called to lead the rest closer into His Kingdom. Do we reverently pray to discern who it is the Lord our God has sent to us? To struggle and wrestle with our decision so that he or she who is chosen will lead after the heart of our Shepherd. Or do we simply cast our vote not concerned with who takes up the position so long as we don’t have to? Or else we choose someone likeable who is easily swayed to do our bidding, one who will allow us to come as we please and do as we please? In short, do we elect someone to lead us closer to heaven or closer to hell?

Lord Jesus let me joyfully bear my cross for You always. Amen

Saint Pius X pray for us…

First reading

Judges 9:6-15 ·
The tale of the trees and their king

All the leading men of Shechem and all Beth-millo gathered, and proclaimed Abimelech king by the terebinth of the pillar at Shechem.
News of this was brought to Jotham. He came and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted aloud for them to hear:

‘Hear me, leaders of Shechem,
that God may also hear you!

‘One day the trees went out
to anoint a king to rule over them.
They said to the olive tree, “Be our king!”

‘The olive tree answered them,
“Must I forego my oil which gives honour to gods and men, to stand swaying above the trees?”

‘Then the trees said to the fig tree,
“Come now, you be our king!”

‘The fig tree answered them,
“Must I forego my sweetness,
forego my excellent fruit,
to stand swaying above the trees?”

‘Then the trees said to the vine,
“Come now, you be our king!”

‘The vine answered them,
“Must I forego my wine which cheers the heart of gods and men, to stand swaying above the trees?”

‘Then all the trees said to the thorn bush,
“Come now, you be our king!”

‘And the thorn bush answered the trees, “If in all good faith you anoint me king to reign over you, then come and shelter in my shade.
If not, fire will come from the thorn bush and devour the cedars of Lebanon.”’

Gospel

Matthew 20:1-16
Why be envious because I am generous?

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner going out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. He made an agreement with the workers for one denarius a day, and sent them to his vineyard. Going out at about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place and said to them, “You go to my vineyard too and I will give you a fair wage.” So they went. At about the sixth hour and again at about the ninth hour, he went out and did the same. Then at about the eleventh hour he went out and found more men standing round, and he said to them, “Why have you been standing here idle all day?” “Because no one has hired us” they answered. He said to them, “You go into my vineyard too.” In the evening, the owner of the vineyard said to his bailiff, “Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last arrivals and ending with the first.” So those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came forward and received one denarius each. When the first came, they expected to get more, but they too received one denarius each. They took it, but grumbled at the landowner. “The men who came last” they said “have done only one hour, and you have treated them the same as us, though we have done a heavy day’s work in all the heat.” He answered one of them and said, “My friend, I am not being unjust to you; did we not agree on one denarius? Take your earnings and go. I choose to pay the last comer as much as I pay you. Have I no right to do what I like with my own? Why be envious because I am generous?” Thus the last will be first, and the first, last.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 20, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Does all the things we have come from the Lord our God? If so then why do we hold on so tightly to what we have such that it is very difficult for us to let go? Yes not all of us are rich, in fact it is pointless to compare our wealth with others for we are rich in many different ways. Question really is how much are we willing to give up for our Lord? For our sisters and brothers? Can we leave behind physical, emotional, sentimental ties behind to follow our Lord? Knowing that even while we may be little in numbers, wisdom, gifts and talents; when we offer up all we have He will multiply them. Great is our God and with Him nothing is impossible!

We fret and worry over inconsequential worldly things, when our only concern should be; how are we living in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ and working to build His Kingdom?

Lord Here I am to do Your will, uphold me in Your strennght that I may do great things to glorify Your name. Amen

First reading

Judges 6:11-24 ·
‘Peace be with you; have no fear; you will not die’

The angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah which belonged to Joash of Abiezer. Gideon his son was threshing wheat inside the winepress to keep it hidden from Midian, when the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘The Lord is with you, valiant warrior!’ Gideon answered him, ‘Forgive me, my lord, but if the Lord is with us, then why is it that all this is happening to us now? And where are all the wonders our ancestors tell us of when they say, “Did not the Lord bring us out of Egypt?” But now the Lord has deserted us; he has abandoned us to Midian.’
At this the Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in the strength now upholding you, and you will rescue Israel from the power of Midian. Do I not send you myself?’ Gideon answered him, ‘Forgive me, my lord, but how can I deliver Israel? My clan, you must know, is the weakest in Manasseh and I am the least important in my family.’ The Lord answered him, ‘I will be with you and you shall crush Midian as though it were a single man.’ Gideon said to him, ‘If I have found favour in your sight, give me a sign that it is you who speak to me. I beg you, do not go away until I come back. I will bring you my offering and set it down before you.’ And he answered, ‘I will stay until you return.’
Gideon went away and prepared a young goat and made unleavened cakes with an ephah of flour. He put the meat into a basket and the broth into a pot, then brought it all to him under the terebinth. As he came near, the angel of the Lord said to him, ‘Take the meat and unleavened cakes, put them on this rock and pour the broth over them.’ Gideon did so. Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff in his hand and touched the meat and unleavened cakes. Fire sprang from the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened cakes, and the angel of the Lord vanished before his eyes. Then Gideon knew this was the angel of the Lord, and he said, ‘Alas, my Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!’ The Lord answered him, ‘Peace be with you; have no fear; you will not die.’ Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it The-Lord-is-Peace.

Gospel

Matthew 19:23-30
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘I tell you solemnly, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Yes, I tell you again, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.’ When the disciples heard this they were astonished. ‘Who can be saved, then?’ they said. Jesus gazed at them. ‘For men’ he told them ‘this is impossible; for God everything is possible.’
Then Peter spoke. ‘What about us?’ he said to him ‘We have left everything and followed you. What are we to have, then?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I tell you solemnly, when all is made new and the Son of Man sits on his throne of glory, you will yourselves sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or land for the sake of my name will be repaid a hundred times over, and also inherit eternal life.
‘Many who are first will be last, and the last, first.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 19, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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There is a time for God and there is a time to earn a living so that I my family and I shall not want; when I no longer choose to or am able to work, then I will serve Him. The soonest perhaps will be when my children are all grown and living on their own. I will then devote all my time to God.

So while you were so busy with your work where was the Lord your God? Where was He in all the much needed holidays taken? One day in a foreign church to fulfill the ‘obligation’?Whom were you praying to in your ‘spare’ time? Will you be offering your version of ‘first fruits’ at your retirement? Will you even be able to serve then? Will you be caring for the old and sick when you are old and sick yourself? Will you be teaching children about the faith when you have not grown in your own faith? Your very own children were watching you all those years they were growing up, what will they have learnt from you?

Keeping the commandments of our Lord is only the start, we are called to grow in Holiness and to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect. And if we are only perfected through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ then should we not do all we can now to grow in our relationship with Him? So that when the sufferings and pain come to perfect us, we will face them with joy in our hearts.

Lord Jesus You are my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want. Amen

First reading

Judges 2:11-19 ·
The Lord appoints judges to rescue the men of Israel

The sons of Israel did what displeases the Lord, and served the Baals. They deserted the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from the gods of the peoples round them. They bowed down to these; they provoked the Lord; they deserted the Lord to serve Baal and Astarte. Then the Lord’s anger flamed out against Israel. He handed them over to pillagers who plundered them; he delivered them to the enemies surrounding them, and they were not able to resist them. In every warlike venture, the hand of the Lord was there to foil them, as the Lord had warned, as the Lord had sworn to them. Thus he reduced them to dire distress.
Then the Lord appointed judges for them, and rescued the men of Israel from the hands of their plunderers. But they would not listen to their judges. They prostituted themselves to other gods, and bowed down before these. Very quickly they left the path their ancestors had trodden in obedience to the orders of the Lord; they did not follow their example. When the Lord appointed judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and rescued them from the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived, for the Lord felt pity for them as they groaned under the iron grip of their oppressors. But once the judge was dead, they relapsed and behaved even worse than their ancestors. They followed other gods; they served them and bowed before them, and would not give up the practices and stubborn ways of their ancestors at all.

Gospel

Matthew 19:16-22
If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own

There was a man who came to Jesus and asked, ‘Master, what good deed must I do to possess eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you ask me about what is good? There is one alone who is good. But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.’ He said, ‘Which?’ ‘These:’ Jesus replied ‘You must not kill. You must not commit adultery. You must not bring false witness. Honour your father and mother, and: you must love your neighbour as yourself.’ The young man said to him, ‘I have kept all these. What more do I need to do?’ Jesus said, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ But when the young man heard these words he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 17, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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God our loving Father dotes on us His children always looking out for us to keep us safe. All He asks of us is that we love one another, be obedient and faithful unto Him. For He wills only the best for us which is to live life to the full in Him.

Which father’s heart will not break when he’s child says to him, I don’t want you, I want another father! I don’t care what you say and I choose to live my life in sin! It’s my choice! Yes indeed it is our choice to make whether we want to honour God our Heavenly Father or Not.

O Heavenly Father I am your little child so loved by you. Forgive me all my sins, and I am truly sorry for having offended you in the past. Let me always run back into Your loving embrace. Let me live my life in the light of Your Son my Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. Such that I will proclaim Your love and message of salvation to all I meet; as I declare with conviction ”As for me and my House, we will serve the Lord.’’ Amen

First reading

Joshua 24:14-29
‘The Lord is a holy God, a jealous God’

Joshua said to all the people, ‘Fear the Lord and serve him perfectly and sincerely; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if you will not serve the Lord, choose today whom you wish to serve, whether the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are now living. As for me and my House, we will serve the Lord.’
The people answered, ‘We have no intention of deserting the Lord and serving other gods! Was it not the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors out of the land of Egypt, the house of slavery, who worked those great wonders before our eyes and preserved us all along the way we travelled and among all the peoples through whom we journeyed? What is more, the Lord drove all those peoples out before us, as well as the Amorites who used to live in this country. We too will serve the Lord, for he is our God.’
Then Joshua said to the people, ‘You cannot serve the Lord, because he is a holy God, he is a jealous God who will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you desert the Lord to follow alien gods he in turn will afflict and destroy you after the goodness he has shown you.’ The people answered Joshua, ‘No; it is the Lord we wish to serve.’ Then Joshua said to the people, ‘You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.’ They answered, ‘We are witnesses.’ ‘Then cast away the alien gods among you and give your hearts to the Lord the God of Israel!’ The people answered Joshua, ‘It is the Lord our God we choose to serve; it is his voice that we will obey.’
That day, Joshua made a covenant for the people; he laid down a statute and ordinance for them at Shechem. Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a great stone and set it up there, under the oak in the sanctuary of the Lord, and Joshua said to all the people, ‘See! This stone shall be a witness against us because it has heard all the words that the Lord has spoken to us: it shall be a witness against you in case you deny your God.’ Then Joshua sent the people away, and each returned to his own inheritance.
After these things Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died; he was a hundred and ten years old.

Gospel

Matthew 19:13-15
Do not stop the little children coming to me

People brought little children to Jesus, for him to lay his hands on them and say a prayer. The disciples turned them away, but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children alone, and do not stop them coming to me; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’ Then he laid his hands on them and went on his way.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 16, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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I prefer not to have free will so that I may always do as the Lord bids me to do. To be Holy and chaste of heart. But without free will how will I love Him unconditionally? How will I love Him with all my heart, mind, soul and strength?

Because of His great love for us, the Lord our God has given the freedom to choose to love and follow Him. But over the centuries and throughout history we had made very bad, terrible choices and had turned away from Him. Cursed to live in sin He came to turn our curses into blessings, to free us from all bondages. He laid down His life for us so that we may live. He alone has been faithful, merciful and loving. Traits we look for in a spouse, yet how faithful, merciful and loving are we ourselves? How then can we be faithful to God and declare we love Him when we cannot be faithful, merciful and loving to our own spouses; and by extension family and friends. How are we faithful to our sisters and brothers in Christ not in our presence?

Fidelity to our Lord Jesus Christ is fidelity to His one Body. What God has united, men must not divide! Let us choose always to be faithful to our calling through Christ our Lord. Amen

First reading

Joshua 24:1-13
I gave you a land where you never toiled, vineyards and olive-groves you never planted

Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem; then he called the elders, leaders, judges and scribes of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. Then Joshua said to all the people:
‘The Lord, the God of Israel says this, “In ancient days your ancestors lived beyond the River – such was Terah the father of Abraham and of Nahor – and they served other gods. Then I brought your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan. I increased his descendants and gave him Isaac. To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountain country of Seir as his possession. Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt. Then I sent Moses and Aaron and plagued Egypt with the wonders that I worked there. So I brought you out of it. I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, and you came to the Sea; the Egyptians pursued your ancestors with chariots and horsemen as far as the Sea of Reeds. There they called to the Lord, and he spread a thick fog between you and the Egyptians, and made the sea go back on them and cover them. You saw with your own eyes the things I did in Egypt. Then for a long time you lived in the wilderness, until I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan; they made war on you and I gave them into your hands; you took possession of their country because I destroyed them before you. Next, Balak son of Zippor the king of Moab arose to make war on Israel, and sent for Balaam son of Beor to come and curse you. But I would not listen to Balaam; instead, he had to bless you, and I saved you from his hand.
‘“When you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho, those who held Jericho fought against you, as did the Amorites and Perizzites, the Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I put them all into your power. I sent out hornets in front of you, which drove the two Amorite kings before you; this was not the work of your sword or your bow. I gave you a land where you never toiled, you live in towns you never built; you eat now from vineyards and olive-groves you never planted.”’

Gospel

Matthew 19:3-12
Husband and wife are no longer two, but one body

Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and to test him they said, ‘Is it against the Law for a man to divorce his wife on any pretext whatever?’ He answered, ‘Have you not read that the creator from the beginning made them male and female and that he said: This is why a man must leave father and mother, and cling to his wife, and the two become one body? They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.’
They said to him, ‘Then why did Moses command that a writ of dismissal should be given in cases of divorce?’ ‘It was because you were so unteachable’ he said ‘that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but it was not like this from the beginning. Now I say this to you: the man who divorces his wife – I am not speaking of fornication – and marries another, is guilty of adultery.’
The disciples said to him, ‘If that is how things are between husband and wife, it is not advisable to marry.’ But he replied, ‘It is not everyone who can accept what I have said, but only those to whom it is granted. There are eunuchs born that way from their mother’s womb, there are eunuchs made so by men and there are eunuchs who have made themselves that way for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 15, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Why do so many around the globe have such a devotion to our Blessed Mother Mary? What is so special about this woman other than that she had given birth to our Lord Jesus Christ? What does it mean for us that she was assumed into heaven? Is it simply an assumption?

Well where do we begin? In the beginning I suppose, where a little girl was born without original sin! The immaculate conception through the almighty and powerful grace of God. A grace filled girl born after the heart of God our Father who devoted her life to living out her call to holiness. Then when an opportunity came for her to glorify God our Father with all her heart, mind and soul, she said Yes to His Will for her to be the mother of His only begotten Son. She surrendered herself fully to Him and allowed herself to be filled completely with the Holy Spirit. Love of God our Father was born into the world, the light for all nations. Dearest Mother, praised the Lord our God with all her grateful, grace filled heart! She praised and worshipped Him such that to this very day her canticle is sung every evening at vespers. Blessed Mother Mary dedicated her life to bringing Jesus up caring for him with every breath, every fibre of her being. Her firstborn and only son was consecrated to God our Father for His purpose alone. For her extraordinary role the deepest thoughts of many hearts are revealed to her such that a sword would pierce her soul. A reality as she stood at the cross of her beloved son our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and an on-going one throughout the ages. Then towards the end of His life we hear our Lord’s deep affectionate love for us in the words, ”mother behold your son, son behold your mother.” The shared maternal love of God through our Blessed Mother outpoured for the whole world!

Today we celebrate the Assumption of our Blessed Mother for we know that Our Blessed Mother through the almighty grace and love of the Lord our God was taken up wholly body and soul into heaven. By His resurrection, our Lord Jesus Christ had opened the gates of heaven for his mother and for us all. Amen

Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners. Now and at the hour of our death. Amen

First reading

Apocalypse 11:19,12:1-6,10 ·
A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman adorned with the sun

The sanctuary of God in heaven opened and the ark of the covenant could be seen inside it.
Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, adorned with the sun, standing on the moon, and with the twelve stars on her head for a crown. She was pregnant, and in labour, crying aloud in the pangs of childbirth. Then a second sign appeared in the sky, a huge red dragon which had seven heads and ten horns, and each of the seven heads crowned with a coronet. Its tail dragged a third of the stars from the sky and dropped them to the earth, and the dragon stopped in front of the woman as she was having the child, so that he could eat it as soon as it was born from its mother. The woman brought a male child into the world, the son who was to rule all the nations with an iron sceptre, and the child was taken straight up to God and to his throne, while the woman escaped into the desert, where God had made a place of safety ready.
Then I heard a voice shout from heaven, ‘Victory and power and empire for ever have been won by our God, and all authority for his Christ.’

Second reading

1 Corinthians 15:20-26 ·
Christ will be brought to life as the first-fruits and then those who belong to him

Christ has been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep. Death came through one man and in the same way the resurrection of the dead has come through one man. Just as all men die in Adam, so all men will be brought to life in Christ; but all of them in their proper order: Christ as the first-fruits and then, after the coming of Christ, those who belong to him. After that will come the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, having done away with every sovereignty, authority and power. For he must be king until he has put all his enemies under his feet and the last of the enemies to be destroyed is death, for everything is to be put under his feet.

Gospel

Luke 1:39-56
The Almighty has done great things for me

Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’
And Mary said:

‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit exults in God my saviour;
because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid.
Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name,
and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.
He has shown the power of his arm,
he has routed the proud of heart.
He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent empty away.
He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy
– according to the promise he made to our ancestors –
of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’

Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 14, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Can there be no quarrel or disagreements within a community? If there are totally zero quarrels or disagreements then it is more than likely you belong to a pseudo community. For every community struggling to grow in holiness and faith know that each and every member is flawed in some way and therefore our community is made up of sinners striving to be more like our Lord and Saviour each and every day. Some members may exhibit stronger feelings and emotions about something while another may be more opinionated. The important thing is that all of us are open to fraternal correction, in the process of growing in faith and love we grow in mercy and love for one another. This can only come about when the community is a praying one and our Lord Jesus is present in the hearts and minds of all gathered together in His name. Without doubt He is truly present amongst us.

We must strive not only for personal holiness but to lead one another into greater holiness. And there must always be joy in our hearts when doing so. For the Holiness of our Lord must be reflected at all times on our faces, hearts and actions. Failing of which we will always fall short of arriving at our destination. In our lifetime we may never enter into the land of milk and honey but through our struggle and faithfulness we will one day walk with our Lord in His Kingdom.

Jesus remember me when you come into your Kingdom. Amen

St Maximilian Kolbe pray for us….

First reading

Deuteronomy 34:1-12 ·
Moses dies and is buried

Leaving the plains of Moab, Moses went up Mount Nebo, the peak of Pisgah opposite Jericho, and the Lord showed him the whole land; Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the Negeb, and the stretch of the Valley of Jericho, city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. The Lord said to him, ‘This is the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying: I will give it to your descendants. I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you shall not cross into it.’ There in the land of Moab, Moses the servant of the Lord died as the Lord decreed; he buried him in the valley, in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor; but to this day no one has ever found his grave. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, his eye undimmed, his vigour unimpaired. The sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab for thirty days. The days of weeping for the mourning rites of Moses came to an end. Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. It was he that the sons of Israel obeyed, carrying out the order that the Lord had given to Moses.
Since then, never has there been such a prophet in Israel as Moses, the man the Lord knew face to face. What signs and wonders the Lord caused him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh and all his servants and his whole land! How mighty the hand and great the fear that Moses wielded in the sight of all Israel!

Gospel

Matthew 18:15-20
If your brother listens to you, you have won back your brother

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you: the evidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain any charge. But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a pagan or a tax collector.
‘I tell you solemnly, whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.
‘I tell you solemnly once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 13, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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What sort of legacy are we leaving behind for our children and their children? Will they have faith? Faith in the one loving God who will see them through it all? Faith that is alive through the living water that never runs dry? Or will that faith be lukewarm? Will it cease to exists after we are buried?

If we truly love our children will we not want them to live life to the full? And as you and I know, life to the full is and only to be found in a relationship with our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. At the very end will we not want our children to be reunited with us in heaven? What then are we doing for their souls? To prepare them for the challenges they will face ahead? While we are still able, it is our duty to lead them on the journey into the ‘promised land’ so that together with all the angels and the saints before us we will one day rejoice as we praise, worship and glorify the Lord our God in Heaven.

Likewise all of us are created in the likeness and image of God our Father. Hence all of us are His children and therefore we must love one another as He loves us. It is our duty to lead one another into greater Holiness thereby paving the way to our Heavenly inheritance. Let us not look upon our differences but the unity to be found through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

First reading

Deuteronomy 31:1-8 ·
Joshua shall cross the Jordan at your head

Moses proceeded to address these words to the whole of Israel, ‘I am one hundred and twenty years old now, and can no longer come and go as I will. The Lord has said to me, “You shall not cross this Jordan.” It is the Lord your God who will cross it at your head to destroy these nations facing you and dispossess them; and Joshua too shall cross at your head, as the Lord has said. The Lord will treat them as he treated Sihon and Og the Amorite kings and their land, destroying them. The Lord will hand them over to you, and you will deal with them in exact accordance with the commandments I have enjoined on you. Be strong, stand firm, have no fear of them, no terror, for the Lord your God is going with you; he will not fail you or desert you.’
Then Moses summoned Joshua and in the presence of all Israel said to him, ‘Be strong, stand firm; you are going with this people into the land the Lord swore to their fathers he would give them; you are to give it into their possession. The Lord himself will lead you; he will be with you; he will not fail you or desert you. Have no fear, do not be disheartened by anything.’

Gospel

Matthew 18:1-5,10,12-14
Anyone who welcomes a little child in my name welcomes me

The disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ So he called a little child to him and set the child in front of them. Then he said, ‘I tell you solemnly, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. And so, the one who makes himself as little as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
‘Anyone who welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.
‘See that you never despise any of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven are continually in the presence of my Father in heaven.
‘Tell me. Suppose a man has a hundred sheep and one of them strays; will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go in search of the stray? I tell you solemnly, if he finds it, it gives him more joy than do the ninety-nine that did not stray at all. Similarly, it is never the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 12, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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The Lord of Lords, King of Kings, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ laid down His life to pay for us a debt He did not owe, for He knew it was too hefty a debt for us to ever pay. So that we might have life to the full with and in Him.

Can you fathom the awesome, abundant love the Lord our God has for you and me? The intimate relationship He desires for us to have with Him. When it is we who should desire it more!? One full shekel paid fully for Peter and Himself at the temple. The full communion we have with Him at every Eucharistic Celebration through the one for all Holy sacrifice at the altar. Are we then living our fully redeemed lives for His glory?

Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world have mercy on us and grant us Your peace. Now and forever Amen.

First reading

Deuteronomy 10:12-22 ·
The Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords

Moses said to the people:
‘Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you? Only this: to fear the Lord your God, to follow all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, to keep the commandments and laws of the Lord that for your good I lay down for you today.
‘To the Lord your God belong indeed heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth and all it contains; yet it was on your fathers that the Lord set his heart for love of them, and after them of all the nations chose their descendants, you yourselves, up to the present day. Circumcise your heart then and be obstinate no longer; for the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, triumphant and terrible, never partial, never to be bribed. It is he who sees justice done for the orphan and the widow, who loves the stranger and gives him food and clothing. Love the stranger then, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. It is the Lord your God you must fear and serve; you must cling to him; in his name take your oaths. He it is you must praise, he is your God: for you he has done these great and terrible things you have seen with your own eyes; and though your fathers numbered only seventy when they went down to Egypt, the Lord your God has made you as many as the stars of heaven.’

Gospel

Matthew 17:22-27
‘They will put the Son of Man to death’

One day when they were together in Galilee, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘The Son of Man is going to be handed over into the power of men; they will put him to death, and on the third day he will be raised to life again.’ And a great sadness came over them.
When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the half-shekel came to Peter and said, ‘Does your master not pay the half-shekel?’ ‘Oh yes’ he replied, and went into the house. But before he could speak, Jesus said, ‘Simon, what is your opinion? From whom do the kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their sons or from foreigners?’ And when he replied, ‘From foreigners’, Jesus said, ‘Well then, the sons are exempt. However, so as not to offend these people, go to the lake and cast a hook; take the first fish that bites, open its mouth and there you will find a shekel; take it and give it to them for me and for you.’

Helmet of Salvation

Posted: August 10, 2019 by CatholicJules in Life's Journeys, Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Can you imagine the Lord teaching you how to face very challenging situations that you will be facing ahead through His Shepherd and His Word then minutes later He tests to see if you had learnt it and know how to apply it?

This just happened to me on the 2nd day of the combined ministry retreat! Put the helmet of salvation on. Eph 6:17 know that you are redeemed. No one can say anything about you or demeaning to you because you know who you are before the Lord. And again 1 Peter 5:8-9 remain alert or rather sober. Do not allow yourself to be drunk with anger, irritation, despair etc.

Then guess what, Phil 2:14 began behind me and targeted at me! Well I quickly put on the helmet of salvation and refused to allow anger to consume me, slowly but surely I managed to let it go. Praise the Lord!

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 10, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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How much do you give for Holy Mother Church? How much do you offer to the Lord your God for His people? From your surpluses? Spare change? Spare time? Thin sowing means thin reaping!

For unless we die to the notion that all that we have, we got by our own means and efforts, we will trust only in ourselves. And hoard everything for ourselves. Even what gifts and talents we possess will be used for, our own ends. How much of all these if anything will we take with us when we die?!

Let us give till it hurts and then some more, for we know that all we will ever have comes from the Lord our God. We give all in love and for love. We give not to receive but receive from God our Father we will. For His graces and blessings flow abundantly unto His children who are obedient to His Son, our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. For having died in Him we will rise in and with Him. Amen

First reading

2 Corinthians 9:6-10 ·
God loves a cheerful giver

Do not forget: thin sowing means thin reaping; the more you sow, the more you reap. Each one should give what he has decided in his own mind, not grudgingly or because he is made to, for God loves a cheerful giver. And there is no limit to the blessings which God can send you – he will make sure that you will always have all you need for yourselves in every possible circumstance, and still have something to spare for all sorts of good works. As scripture says: He was free in almsgiving, and gave to the poor: his good deeds will never be forgotten.
The one who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will provide you with all the seed you want and make the harvest of your good deeds a larger one.

Gospel

John 12:24-26
If a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies, it yields a rich harvest

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘I tell you, most solemnly,
unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies,
it remains only a single grain;
but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest.
Anyone who loves his life loses it; anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for the eternal life.
If a man serves me, he must follow me, wherever I am, my servant will be there too.
If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 8, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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By our baptism we have been anointed priest, prophet and king. And our primary duty is to lead one another into greater Holiness. That is to be Holy as our Heavenly Father is Holy. We may wear many different hats but all with the same role, to take the lead towards Holiness. Whether you are a spouse, a father or mother, child, student, office manager, employer or employee it makes no difference. For our call is to reflect the Holiness of the Lord our God in all that we say and do.

How is this accomplished then if all that people see is impatience? Dismay on our faces? Sarcasm in speech and anger in our tone? Do we reflect the ingratitude of others by our very own ingratitude? Did we somehow forget that all that we have, gifts, talents and power if any were all given to us by the grace of our loving and merciful God? How are we showing the love and mercy of the Lord our God that we preach about?

Yes indeed our Christian call to take up our cross to follow Jesus is never going to be easy. The cross we bear for Him and on the narrow and winding path will be arduous indeed. But we can gladly bear it with joy in our hearts for we know He is with us and leading us home to Him. We know this when we are in communion with Him, for we share in His thoughts and in His ways. For He has told us that “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways.” Amen

First reading

Numbers 20:1-13 ·
Moses makes water flow from the rock at Meribah

The sons of Israel, the whole community, arrived in the first month at the desert of Zin. The people settled at Kadesh. It was there that Miriam died and was buried.
There was no water for the community, and they were all united against Moses and Aaron. The people challenged Moses: ‘We would rather have died,’ they said ‘as our brothers died before the Lord! Why did you bring the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, only to let us die here, ourselves and our cattle? Why did you lead us out of Egypt, only to bring us to this wretched place? It is a place unfit for sowing, it has no figs, no vines, no pomegranates, and there is not even water to drink!’
Leaving the assembly, Moses and Aaron went to the door of the Tent of Meeting. They threw themselves face downward on the ground, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. The Lord spoke to Moses and said, ‘Take the branch and call the community together, you and your brother Aaron. Then, in full view of them, order this rock to give water. You will make water flow for them out of the rock, and provide drink for the community and their cattle.’
Moses took up the branch from before the Lord, as he had directed him. Then Moses and Aaron called the assembly together in front of the rock and addressed them, ‘Listen now, you rebels. Shall we make water gush from this rock for you?’ And Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the branch; water gushed in abundance, and the community drank and their cattle too.
Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe that I could proclaim my holiness in the eyes of the sons of Israel, you shall not lead this assembly into the land I am giving them.’
These are the waters of Meribah, where the sons of Israel challenged the Lord and he proclaimed his holiness.

Gospel

Matthew 16:13-23
You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said, ‘the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.’ Then he gave the disciples strict orders not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
From that time Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day. Then, taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him. ‘Heaven preserve you, Lord;’ he said ‘this must not happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 7, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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When will we STOP doubting and believe wholly and wholeheartedly in the love the Lord our God has for us and that He is truly an indeed an almighty God; that nothing is impossible for Him!?

Why do we allow obstacles and challenges deter us from living out our faith with zeal and fervour? Such that we are unable to bear witness to Him? Can the Lord our God not change the hearts of the non-believers in our family? Can He not change the mind of the stubborn spouse? Can He not take away the pain and suffering of a loved one who is critically ill? Can He not forgive us the most heinous sin we have committed against man and Him? What or who are the ‘giants’ in our lives that prevents us from entering into the promised land? What other fears or doubts do you have? Turn to Jesus and lay them at His feet and He will cast them out. He truly is the Lord of Lords, king of Kings!

Let our prayers not be casual but fervent with zeal and love for Him. On our knees we shake and heaven and earth as He will surely say to us ”By your great faith your prayers are answered.” Let this be our faith now and forevermore. Amen Alleluia!

First reading

Numbers 13:1-2,25-14:1,26-29,34-35
The spies return from Canaan

The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Paran and said, ‘Send out men, one from each tribe, to make a reconnaissance of this land of Canaan which I am giving to the sons of Israel. Send the leader of each tribe.’
At the end of forty days, they came back from their reconnaissance of the land. They sought out Moses, Aaron and the whole community of Israel, in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They made their report to them, and to the whole community, and showed them the produce of the country.
They told them this story, ‘We went into the land to which you sent us. It does indeed flow with milk and honey; this is its produce. At the same time, its inhabitants are a powerful people; the towns are fortified and very big; yes, and we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekite holds the Negeb area, the Hittite, Amorite and Jebusite the highlands, and the Canaanite the sea coast and the banks of the Jordan.’
Caleb harangued the people gathered about Moses: ‘We must march in,’ he said ‘and conquer this land: we are well able to do it.’ But the men who had gone up with him answered, ‘We are not able to march against this people; they are stronger than we are.’ And they began to disparage the country they had reconnoitred to the sons of Israel, ‘The country we went to reconnoitre is a country that devours its inhabitants. Every man we saw there was of enormous size. Yes, and we saw giants there (the sons of Anak, descendants of the Giants). We felt like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.’
At this, the whole community raised their voices and cried aloud, and the people wailed all that night.
The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said:
‘I have heard the complaints which the sons of Israel make against me. Say to them, “As I live – it is the Lord who speaks – I will deal with you according to the very words you have used in my hearing. In this wilderness your dead bodies will fall, all you men of the census, all you who were numbered from the age of twenty years and over, you who have complained against me. For forty days you reconnoitred the land. Each day shall count for a year: for forty years you shall bear the burden of your sins, and you shall learn what it means to reject me.” I, the Lord, have spoken: this is how I will deal with this perverse community that has conspired against me. Here in this wilderness, to the last man, they shall die.’

Gospel

Matthew 15:21-28
The Canaanite woman debates with Jesus and saves her son

Jesus left Gennesaret and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. Then out came a Canaanite woman from that district and started shouting, ‘Sir, Son of David, take pity on me. My daughter is tormented by a devil.’ But he answered her not a word. And his disciples went and pleaded with him. ‘Give her what she wants,’ they said ‘because she is shouting after us.’ He said in reply, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.’ But the woman had come up and was kneeling at his feet. ‘Lord,’ she said ‘help me.’ He replied, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ She retorted, ‘Ah yes, sir; but even house-dogs can eat the scraps that fall from their master’s table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, you have great faith. Let your wish be granted.’ And from that moment her daughter was well again.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 6, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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How am I configured to my Lord and saviour Jesus Christ? Is the level of my faith and relationship with Him ever growing? Am I more loving than before? More patient then I once was? Am I able to testify to His love and mercy, with family, friends, even the stranger? Or am I still afraid to ‘offend’ others by my very own belief in Him? Do I still hold on to my addictions? Do I still give in readily to temptations?

The glory and power of our Lord Jesus Christ had been manifested to us, when His face shone brilliantly into the deep dark recesses of our lives. When He freed us from our sins, healed and restored us. How magnificently we had been changed from within such that we are able to bring forth His light into the darkness of our sisters and brothers. We know that we, children of God our Heavenly Father will one day stand in His presence to share in His Glory. Glory and praise indeed to our Lord Jesus Christ!

Heavenly Father almighty God, I hear Your voice telling me to listen to Your Son my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Your Will be done now and forever. Amen

First reading

Daniel 7:9-10,13-14 ·
His robe was white as snow

As I watched:

Thrones were set in place and one of great age took his seat.
His robe was white as snow, the hair of his head as pure as wool.
His throne was a blaze of flames, its wheels were a burning fire.
A stream of fire poured out, issuing from his presence.
A thousand thousand waited on him, ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
A court was held and the books were opened.

I gazed into the visions of the night.

And I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven,
one like a son of man.
He came to the one of great age and was led into his presence.
On him was conferred sovereignty, glory and kingship, and men of all peoples, nations and languages became his servants.
His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty
which shall never pass away,
nor will his empire ever be destroyed.

Gospel

Luke 9:28-36
Jesus is transfigured before them

Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up the mountain to pray. As he prayed, the aspect of his face was changed and his clothing became brilliant as lightning. Suddenly there were two men there talking to him; they were Moses and Elijah appearing in glory, and they were speaking of his passing which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were heavy with sleep, but they kept awake and saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As these were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ – He did not know what he was saying. As he spoke, a cloud came and covered them with shadow; and when they went into the cloud the disciples were afraid. And a voice came from the cloud saying, ‘This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.’ And after the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. The disciples kept silence and, at that time, told no one what they had seen.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 5, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Such is the unique love of the Lord our God that we experience both His paternal as well as His maternal love for us. ”Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” Isaiah 49:15

He tends tenderly to His children, instructing and guiding them. When they are hungry and thirsting after Him, He feeds and nourishes them, sending them off thereafter to share in His love. This is what happens at every Eucharistic Celebration! This is the great, immense abounding love of the Lord our God outpoured us.

Let us stop dwelling in sin, stop our complaints of our discomforts or how challenging our lives are. But turn instead to Jesus, with grateful hearts. For through Him alone have we been set free, restored and nourished to live freely in His love and for love of one another. Let us then pave the way for others who do not yet know of His love. Amen

First reading

Numbers 11:4-15
The sons of Israel complain in the desert

The sons of Israel began to wail, ‘Who will give us meat to eat?’ they said. ‘Think of the fish we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic! Here we are wasting away, stripped of everything; there is nothing but manna for us to look at!’

The manna was like coriander seed, and had the appearance of bdellium. The people went round gathering it, and ground it in a mill or crushed it with a pestle; it was then cooked in a pot and made into pancakes. It tasted like cake made with oil. When the dew fell on the camp at night-time, the manna fell with it.

Moses heard the people wailing, every family at the door of its tent. The anger of the Lord flared out, and Moses greatly worried over this. And he spoke to the Lord:

‘Why do you treat your servant so badly? Why have I not found favour with you, so that you load on me the weight of all this nation? Was it I who conceived all this people, was it I who gave them birth, that you should say to me, “Carry them in your bosom, like a nurse with a baby at the breast, to the land that I swore to give their fathers”? Where am I to find meat to give to all this people, when they come worrying me so tearfully and say, “Give us meat to eat”? I am not able to carry this nation by myself alone; the weight is too much for me. If this is how you want to deal with me, I would rather you killed me! If only I had found favour in your eyes, and not lived to see such misery as this!’

Gospel

Matthew 14:13-21
The feeding of the five thousand

When Jesus received the news of John the Baptist’s death he withdrew by boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. But the people heard of this and, leaving the towns, went after him on foot. So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them and healed their sick.

When evening came, the disciples went to him and said, ‘This is a lonely place, and the time has slipped by; so send the people away, and they can go to the villages to buy themselves some food.’ Jesus replied, ‘There is no need for them to go: give them something to eat yourselves.’ But they answered ‘All we have with us is five loaves and two fish.’ ‘Bring them here to me’ he said. He gave orders that the people were to sit down on the grass; then he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing. And breaking the loaves handed them to his disciples who gave them to the crowds. They all ate as much as they wanted, and they collected the scraps remaining; twelve baskets full. Those who ate numbered about five thousand men, to say nothing of women and children.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 3, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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What will it profit a man to gain the whole world but he loses His soul in the process? Indeed this question applies when we choose to give in to to our wanton desires, greed and insatiable wants. Then try to justify our actions through persuasive arguments as though we are merely victims of our own devices.

No! Turn back to the Lord with all your heart. Repent while You still can for He our merciful and loving Lord; wants to forgive you all your debts so that you may live freely in His love. To love your neighbour as you should.

To die for the glory of our Lord is to rise up in Him. Death in sin is simply death.

I choose Jesus! The way, the Truth and the Life. Amen

First reading

Leviticus 25:1,8-17
The law of the jubilee year

The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai. He said:
‘You are to count seven weeks of years – seven times seven years, that is to say a period of seven weeks of years, forty-nine years. And on the tenth day of the seventh month you shall sound the trumpet; on the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout the land. You will declare this fiftieth year sacred and proclaim the liberation of all the inhabitants of the land. This is to be a jubilee for you; each of you will return to his ancestral home, each to his own clan. This fiftieth year is to be a jubilee year for you: you will not sow, you will not harvest the ungathered corn, you will not gather from the untrimmed vine. The jubilee is to be a holy thing to you, you will eat what comes from the fields.
‘In this year of jubilee each of you is to return to his ancestral home. If you buy or sell with your neighbour, let no one wrong his brother. If you buy from your neighbour, this must take into account the number of years since the jubilee: according to the number of productive years he will fix the price. The greater the number of years, the higher shall be the price demanded; the less the number of years, the greater the reduction; for what he is selling you is a certain number of harvests. Let none of you wrong his neighbour, but fear your God; I am the Lord your God.’

Gospel

Matthew 14:1-12
The beheading of John the Baptist

Herod the tetrarch heard about the reputation of Jesus, and said to his court, ‘This is John the Baptist himself; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.’
Now it was Herod who had arrested John, chained him up and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. For John had told him, ‘It is against the Law for you to have her.’ He had wanted to kill him but was afraid of the people, who regarded John as a prophet. Then, during the celebrations for Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and so delighted Herod that he promised on oath to give her anything she asked. Prompted by her mother she said, ‘Give me John the Baptist’s head, here, on a dish.’ The king was distressed but, thinking of the oaths he had sworn and of his guests, he ordered it to be given her, and sent and had John beheaded in the prison. The head was brought in on a dish and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. John’s disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they went off to tell Jesus.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 2, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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How do you change the hearts of those closest around you? How do you lead them closer to God our Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit our One triune God? Yes you very well know that those closest to you are the toughest to reach out to. Even your own ministry members are unlikely to listen to anyone, when they have this idea that they have come to ‘serve’ the Lord on their own terms. They are simply volunteers and so choose how, what and when they want to serve. And so afraid of losing them you may say Oh well in God’s time they will have a change of heart, afterall everyone’s journey is different.

That may very well be true, but does that mean you do nothing to lead them into discipleship? Yes the keyword is LEAD, that is to lead by your very example. Your committment, your integrity, your own desire to grow, change, and most important of all; it is by your love of God and for them that all will know that you are the Lord’s disciple.

We do this by honouring the Lord our God above all. We repent continuously of our sins and offer the best we have to offer of our lives for Him. By His grace, strength and through our very own witness; hearts and minds can and will be changed. For we have become beacons of His love and light by the way we lead our lives in Him.

Yes Jesus Himself did not work many miracles where the people were obstinate because of their lack of faith. But what about those whom He managed to work miracles in? For our Lord did say there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. That one repentant sinner filled with joy can touch a hundredfold times a hundredfold by His/Her own testimony as we have seen in the lives of St Paul, St Peter and literally too many others to mention.

O Lord my God help me, not to allow the lack of faith of others discourage me, but increase in me my very own faith, love and zeal to bear my cross to follow You always. Amen

First reading

Leviticus 23:1,4-11,15-16,27,34-37
The law of the festivals of the Lord

The Lord spoke to Moses. He said:

‘These are the Lord’s solemn festivals, the sacred assemblies to which you are to summon the sons of Israel on the appointed day.

‘The fourteenth day of the first month, between the two evenings, is the Passover of the Lord; and the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of Unleavened Bread for the Lord. For seven days you shall eat bread without leaven. On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you must do no heavy work. For seven days you shall offer a burnt offering to the Lord. The seventh day is to be a day of sacred assembly; you must do no work.’

The Lord spoke to Moses. He said:

‘Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them:

‘“When you enter the land that I give you, and gather in the harvest there, you must bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest, and he is to present it to the Lord with the gesture of offering, so that you may be acceptable. The priest shall make this offering on the day after the sabbath.

‘“From the day after the sabbath, the day on which you bring the sheaf of offering, you are to count seven full weeks. You are to count fifty days, to the day after the seventh sabbath, and then you are to offer the Lord a new oblation.

‘“The tenth day of the seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. You are to hold a sacred assembly. You must fast, and you must offer a burnt offering to the Lord.

‘“The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of Tabernacles for the Lord, lasting seven days. The first day is a day of sacred assembly; you must do no heavy work. For seven days you must offer a burnt offering to the Lord. On the eighth day you are to hold a sacred assembly, you must offer a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a day of solemn meeting; you must do no heavy work.

‘“These are the solemn festivals of the Lord to which you are to summon the children of Israel, sacred assemblies for the purpose of offering burnt offerings, holocausts, oblations, sacrifices and libations to the Lord, according to the ritual of each day.”’

Gospel

Matthew 13:54-58

A prophet is only despised in his own country

Coming to his home town, Jesus taught the people in their synagogue in such a way that they were astonished and said, ‘Where did the man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? This is the carpenter’s son, surely? Is not his mother the woman called Mary, and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Jude? His sisters, too, are they not all here with us? So where did the man get it all?’ And they would not accept him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is only despised in his own country and in his own house’, and he did not work many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 1, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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God is dwelling in my heart, He and I are one. All His love he gives to me through Christ His Son! And with Jesus in my heart what have I to fear? For He is the Son of God In my heart He’s near. Wonderful, beautiful, encouraging hymn which brings us much joy and hope in just singing it aloud. But what if it was not merely a hymn. What if it were a reality? Such that we would even be able to bring the presence of the Lord our God everywhere we went.

Yes sisters and brothers in Christ this is truly a reality for us who believe, who hear His word, and act to do God our Father’s Will for us as we live out a sacramental life. We bring the presence of our Lord with us wherever we go as we share His love through and in the most precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We teach and share the promises of old brought to fulfillment in the new. How we were dead in our sins and brought to life again through the power of our Risen Lord. We recollect on where we were, where we are now and where we are going through Him who loves us dearly. Yes indeed this is our reality!

However the reality for most is not as promising because they want to be in control of every aspect of their lives. If they mix red and white, pink must be the result! Leaving it to the Lord their God is like a game of chance and they will have nothing of it. In fact praying to Him if at all is pretty much telling Him what to do and how to do it! They might mutter softly under their breath ‘thy will be done’ though the need is for their will to be done! Pity if they don’t snap out of this fantasy world they have built for themselves and deem it the reality of life. What is the treasure they are storing and for whom? When will they realise what it really means when we say we are all created in the image and likeness of God our Heavenly Father and are on a pilgrim journey back to Him. We are NOT of this world even though we live in it.

Lord Jesus remember me as I journey back to Your Kingdom. Amen

First reading

Exodus 40:16-21,34-38 ·
The tabernacle is set up

Moses did exactly as the Lord had directed him. The tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year. Moses erected the tabernacle. He fixed the sockets for it, put up its frames, put its crossbars in position, set up its posts. He spread the tent over the tabernacle and on top of this the covering for the tent, as the Lord had directed Moses. He took the Testimony and placed it inside the ark. He set the shafts to the ark and placed the throne of mercy on it. He brought the ark into the tabernacle and put the screening veil in place; thus he screened the ark of the Lord, as the Lord had directed Moses.
The cloud covered the Tent of Meeting and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because of the cloud that rested on it and because of the glory of the Lord that filled the tabernacle.
At every stage of their journey, whenever the cloud rose from the tabernacle the sons of Israel would resume their march. If the cloud did not rise, they waited and would not march until it did. For the cloud of the Lord rested on the tabernacle by day, and a fire shone within the cloud by night, for all the House of Israel to see. And so it was for every stage of their journey.

Gospel

Matthew 13:47-53
The fishermen collect the good fish and throw away those that are no use

Jesus said to the crowds: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea that brings in a haul of all kinds. When it is full, the fishermen haul it ashore; then, sitting down, they collect the good ones in a basket and throw away those that are no use. This is how it will be at the end of time: the angels will appear and separate the wicked from the just to throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.
‘Have you understood all this?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ And he said to them, ‘Well then, every scribe who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out from his storeroom things both new and old.’

On Catholicjules.net

Posted: July 31, 2019 by CatholicJules in Life's Journeys
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Looking back now I am in awe of how the Lord had transformed my life to the point that I am now helping, or at least, I think I am helping folks grow in their faith through my postings.

It all started when I realised that my vocabulary was turning to marsh for lack of practice, as my job at that time did not require me to write lengthy reports etc. So in Jan 2007 I took to journaling by way of the new technology available on the Internet through journaling in the blogsphere. At that time I could not decide between blogspot or wordpress and for a spell decided to blog on both. It then became obvious that wordpress was more serious in development so I switched permanently.

Juleslife.wordpress.com was given life to such a degree that I affectionately themed it of one ‘Living life with A Passion` I started blogging about everything and anything under the sun. But mostly what was of interest to me including bits of my own life and adventure. Somehow or rather I managed to get about 700,000++ visitors I referred to as ‘dew drops’ over the years.

That all changed when I encountered the Lord through the Life in the Spirit Seminar. I began to have an ever growing desire to talk about my experiences, share Him with others and in my own own little way contribute to evangelising others; so that they too could experience Him in a deep personal way as I had. Afterall I had some experience in blogging and so I decided to leave the worldliness of living life with a passion behind and start living life to the full in Him.

Still I had to start from scratch! How and where would I get anyone to start following me? Who would even be interested to hear what I had to say about faith matters? I had to start somewhere so I invited family and friends and got zero response. Afterall those who knew me in my past probably thought to themselves, it’s he for real? Has he changed? Really? For how long? (*chuckles*) but that did not deter me for I was on fire for my Lord and trusted that He would lead folks as and when He saw fit to do so. Very slowly but surely the numbers grew.

It then dawned on me that I had to be fully committed to sharing the faith, afterall I now had a following. What this meant for me, is that I could not take a break or a holiday. Rain, shine, sick, well, having fallen into sin or not I had to continue. I made a decision that I would only rest on Sunday, which is why I post the Sunday reflections of Dr Scott Hahn. Even when I went for a retreat where there was no WiFi or usage of any mobile phone, laptop or tablet allowed; I would then do my reflections ahead and schedule them to post automatically. Well even though I thought it unlikely then that I would be able to sustain or rather keep to this commitment; the Lord has granted me the grace and strength to do so.

Anyhow to shorten an otherwise longer story I now have a following of about 12000++ on my catholicjules Facebook page and about 300,000 visitors on Catholicjules.net on WordPress. All for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ! Prayerfully this will grow so that more are touched or inspired by the Lord through the sharings and reflections of His Word. Amen

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: July 31, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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I must shine for my Lord and saviour Jesus Christ!

No more shall I remain veiled in the darkness of my sins. For His light has shone through my darkness, He has healed and restored my soul.

I must shine for my Lord and saviour Jesus Christ!

For by His grace I have entered into full communion with Him and all the voids of my life have been filled. He is my shepherd there is nothing I shall want.

I must shine for my Lord and saviour Jesus Christ!

His word is a lamp unto my feet and I will pass on the light of His word; so that others may not falter and fall but rise up to live new lives fully in His love.

I must shine for my Lord and saviour Jesus Christ!

It is by my very own sufferings and sacrifices for His sake that I am cut, polished and refined. And so I gladly endure all for my Lord.

I must shine for my Lord and saviour Jesus Christ!

The Kingdom of heaven is indeed at hand, repent and hear His word. Let us share in the joy of the Gospel. Woe to me if I do not preach it.

I must shine for my Lord and saviour Jesus Christ!

Lord Jesus You are the Christ, the Son of the living God, lead me Lord into your Kingdom. Amen

First reading

Exodus 34:29-35 ·
Moses passes on to the people the orders given by the Lord

When Moses came down from the mountain of Sinai – as he came down from the mountain, Moses had the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands – he did not know that the skin on his face was radiant after speaking with the Lord. And when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, the skin on his face shone so much that they would not venture near him. But Moses called to them, and Aaron with all the leaders of the community came back to him; and he spoke to them. Then all the sons of Israel came closer, and he passed on to them all the orders that the Lord had given him on the mountain of Sinai. And when Moses had finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. Whenever he went into the Lord’s presence to speak with him, Moses would remove the veil until he came out again. And when he came out, he would tell the sons of Israel what he had been ordered to pass on to them, and the sons of Israel would see the face of Moses radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he returned to speak with the Lord.

Gospel

Matthew 13:44-46
He sells everything he owns and buys the field

Jesus said to the crowds: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which someone has found; he hides it again, goes off happy, sells everything he owns and buys the field.
‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls; when he finds one of great value he goes and sells everything he owns and buys it.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: July 30, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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We thank You O Lord God Almighty for your continued blessings, love and mercy upon us. Glory to You O Lord our God!

Are we grateful and thankful enough to the Lord our God? Or have we taken all we have for granted? We now have ‘Tents of Meeting’ we call churches in which we are now able, through our Lord Jesus Christ to meet Him and to be in His Presence. To be allowed to receive Him into our very being, so that through His divinity in us we can grow in Holiness to be with Him in paradise, there is NO other God like ours!

Yet how many choose more ‘important’ things, places or events they rather be at than to attend the Eucharistic Celebration? How many say why do I need to go to church to pray when I can do so at home or anywhere for that matter? What are you and I doing to bring them to the awareness of the the true meaning of Communion. Of what it means to be one Body in Christ, as we worship and we pray. Of the foretaste and experience of Heaven at every Eucharistic Celebration. Most important of all the source and summit of our Faith, the loving embrace of our Lord Jesus Christ when we receive Him at Holy Eucharist. The opportunity of having our Risen Euchartic Lord dwell within us! Amen, Amen, Amen!

Are we grateful and thankful enough? That in His mercy and love, our Lord patiently awaits for us to repent of our sins and turn back to Him. So whether tares, darnel or any other name can be transformed into wheat; sinners into Saints!

We thank You O Lord God Almighty for your continued blessings, love and mercy upon us. Glory to You O Lord our God!

First reading

Exodus 33:7-11,34:5-9,28
‘They are a headstrong people; but forgive us our faults’

Moses used to take the Tent and pitch it outside the camp, at some distance from the camp. He called it the Tent of Meeting. Anyone who had to consult the Lord would go out to the Tent of Meeting, outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the Tent, all the people would rise. Every man would stand at the door of his tent and watch Moses until he reached the Tent; the pillar of cloud would come down and station itself at the entrance to the Tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. When they saw the pillar of cloud stationed at the entrance to the Tent, all the people would rise and bow low, each at the door of his tent. The Lord would speak with Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would turn back to the camp, but the young man who was his servant, Joshua son of Nun, would not leave the Tent.
And the Lord descended in the form of a cloud, and Moses stood with him there.
He called on the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, a God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in kindness and faithfulness; for thousands he maintains his kindness, forgives faults, transgression, sin; yet he lets nothing go unchecked, punishing the father’s fault in the sons and in the grandsons to the third and fourth generation.’ And Moses bowed down to the ground at once and worshipped. ‘If I have indeed won your favour, Lord,’ he said ‘let my Lord come with us, I beg. True, they are a headstrong people, but forgive us our faults and our sins, and adopt us as your heritage.’
Moses stayed there with the Lord for forty days and forty nights, eating and drinking nothing. He inscribed on the tablets the words of the Covenant – the Ten Words.

Gospel

Matthew 13:36-43
As the darnel is gathered up and burnt, so it will be at the end of time

Leaving the crowds, Jesus went to the house; and his disciples came to him and said, ‘Explain the parable about the darnel in the field to us.’ He said in reply, ‘The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed is the subjects of the kingdom; the darnel, the subjects of the evil one; the enemy who sowed them, the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels. Well then, just as the darnel is gathered up and burnt in the fire, so it will be at the end of time. The Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that provoke offences and all who do evil, and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Then the virtuous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Listen, anyone who has ears!’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: July 29, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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How secure is your faith in our Lord Jesus Christ? How deep is your relationship with Him? What will happen when you fall into difficulty? Despair? or Inertia? For if you do not work at growing your relationship with Him, then the ‘golden calfs’ of the world will emerge to rob you of your communion with the Lord your God. And life to the full will dwindle as you eventually die in your sins. Do you even know what are the ‘golden calfs’ in your life? Workaholism, pornography, television, excessive gaming, compulsive shopping, to name a few for there will be one unique to you.

Everyday must be a renewal of our faith and our love in Him, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Each morning as we awake we should renew our baptismal vows and pray to the Holy Spirit to guide us through the day. If we should trip and fall let us not despair, but repent instead, turn always to Him who loves us dearly. For He is the resurrection and the life! He will raise us from our sins which brings death into new life in Him. Amen

St Martha pray for us…

First reading

Exodus 32:15-24,30-34
The golden calf

Moses made his way back down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, tablets inscribed on both sides, inscribed on the front and on the back. These tablets were the work of God, and the writing on them was God’s writing engraved on the tablets.
Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting. ‘There is the sound of battle in the camp’, he told Moses. Moses answered him:

‘No song of victory is this sound,
no wailing for defeat this sound;
it is the sound of chanting that I hear.’

As he approached the camp and saw the calf and the groups dancing, Moses’ anger blazed. He threw down the tablets he was holding and broke them at the foot of the mountain. He seized the calf they had made and burned it, grinding it into powder which he scattered on the water; and he made the sons of Israel drink it. To Aaron Moses said, ‘What has this people done to you, for you to bring such a great sin on them?’ ‘Let not my lord’s anger blaze like this’ Aaron answered. ‘You know yourself how prone this people is to evil. They said to me, “Make us a god to go at our head; this Moses, the man who brought us up from Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” So I said to them, “Who has gold?,” and they took it off and brought it to me. I threw it into the fire and out came this calf.’
On the following day Moses said to the people, ‘You have committed a grave sin. But now I shall go up to the Lord: perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.’ And Moses returned to the Lord. ‘I am grieved,’ he cried ‘this people has committed a grave sin, making themselves a god of gold. And yet, if it pleased you to forgive this sin of theirs…! But if not, then blot me out from the book that you have written.’ The Lord answered Moses, “It is the man who has sinned against me that I shall blot out from my book. Go now, lead the people to the place of which I told you. My angel shall go before you but, on the day of my visitation, I shall punish them for their sin.’

Gospel

John 11:19-27
I am the resurrection and the life

Many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to sympathise with them over their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus had come she went to meet him. Mary remained sitting in the house. Martha said to Jesus, ‘If you had been here, my brother would not have died, but I know that, even now, whatever you ask of God, he will grant you.’ ‘Your brother’ said Jesus to her ‘will rise again.’ Martha said, ‘I know he will rise again at the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said:

‘I am the resurrection and the life.
If anyone believes in me, even though he dies he will live, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?’

‘Yes, Lord,’ she said ‘I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: July 27, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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We strive to live as one in an imperfect community. An imperfect community seeking perfection through our Lord Jesus Christ who came so that we might enter into that eternal covenant of life in Him.

So then do we who have many flaws, look upon the flaws of others instead? Are we obstacles for others, preventing them from being Holy by our unholy example of living in sin and giving in to temptations? Do we cause the downfall of others?

The good news is that our merciful Lord is both patient and kind and we are given time to have our hearts changed by Him. And until time runs out for us, He sees us all as ‘wheat.’ So let us turn to Him the source of all life that we might have life to the full in Him. Let us encourage and help one another grow in holiness; mercy and love after our Lord Jesus Christ. So that more of ‘wheat’ shall enter into His Heavenly Kingdom. Amen

First reading

Exodus 24:3-8 ·
This is the blood of the Covenant that the Lord has made with you

Moses went and told the people all the commands of the Lord and all the ordinances. In answer, all the people said with one voice, ‘We will observe all the commands that the Lord has decreed.’ Moses put all the commands of the Lord into writing, and early next morning he built an altar at the foot of the mountain, with twelve standing-stones for the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he directed certain young Israelites to offer holocausts and to immolate bullocks to the Lord as communion sacrifices. Half of the blood Moses took up and put into basins, the other half he cast on the altar. And taking the Book of the Covenant he read it to the listening people, and they said, ‘We will observe all that the Lord has decreed; we will obey.’ Then Moses took the blood and cast it towards the people. This’ he said ‘is the blood of the Covenant that the Lord has made with you, containing all these rules.’

Gospel

Matthew 13:24-30
Let them both grow till the harvest

Jesus put another parable before the crowds: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everybody was asleep his enemy came, sowed darnel all among the wheat, and made off. When the new wheat sprouted and ripened, the darnel appeared as well. The owner’s servants went to him and said, “Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? If so, where does the darnel come from?” “Some enemy has done this” he answered. And the servants said, “Do you want us to go and weed it out?” But he said, “No, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it. Let them both grow till the harvest; and at harvest time I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn.”’

On Salvation History and…

Posted: July 26, 2019 by CatholicJules in Life's Journeys, Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Our Salvation history has a beginning and an end. And it is only through the entire journey that we see, feel, touch, know the great love and presence of the Lord our God.

We cannot start with the story of God’s people and their slavery in Egypt then fast forward to Joshua leading them into the promised land forgetting the Lord God’s mighty hand through His servant Moses. Neither can we start at Genesis then jump to Revelation.

Therefore it is a sacrilege to teach others to skip the old testament completely and just read and know the new testament.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Says the Lord… Rev 22:13

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: July 26, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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We have heard that we must love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our mind, all our strength and all our soul. And to love our our neighbour as ourselves. We do so when we keep his commandments and statutes. Yet do we understand the depth and intricacies of these simple commandments? For instance, we have only one creator of heaven and earth should we be allowed at anytime to offer worship of things created through human hands? Or for that matter nature or persons crafted by the Lord our God Himself? Or when we work seven days a week fully immersed in our work and our accomplishments are we not saying that we do not need the Lord our God in our lives? Are we not in a sense building our own kingdom for ourselves? What about when we say we have never committed murder nor will ever do so, but kill the spirit of another through our harsh words and criticisms? Do not steal? What about when we steal the ideas of others or take credit for something we have not done? Or bring stationery home from the office we work at? Have we not been jealous in our hearts when we see others living the high life with luxuries and travelling the world over? Have some not secretly entertained thoughts in their hearts thinking ”Oh how nice it would be if he was my husband or she was my wife instead?”

Most of the sins above frequently occurs when the Word of God remains at a distance, even if we hold on to part of it if at all; we do so with a shallow disposition, lukewarm at best. How then can we say we love Him when we do not know Him? How can we know Him if we do not read and dwell on Him through scripture? When we do not grow in our faith through study, attending formation and putting to practice what we have learnt? When we do not have time for prayer or adoration of Him? How then are our lives and the lives of others enriched by our response or lack thereof to His call to love and to do His Will according to His Word?

Lord Jesus let the declaration of my love for you be seen through the work of my hands which till the fertile soil of hearts to prepare for a rich harvest in your most Holy name. Amen

St Joachim and St Anne pray for us…

First reading

Exodus 20:1-17
The Law given at Sinai

God spoke all these words. He said, ‘I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
‘You shall have no gods except me.
‘You shall not make yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven or on earth beneath or in the waters under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God and I punish the father’s fault in the sons, the grandsons, and the great-grandsons of those who hate me; but I show kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
‘You shall not utter the name of the Lord your God to misuse it, for the Lord will not leave unpunished the man who utters his name to misuse it.
‘Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy. For six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath for the Lord your God. You shall do no work that day, neither you nor your son nor your daughter nor your servants, men or women, nor your animals nor the stranger who lives with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that these hold, but on the seventh day he rested; that is why the Lord has blessed the sabbath day and made it sacred.
‘Honour your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God has given to you.
‘You shall not kill.
‘You shall not commit adultery.
‘You shall not steal.
‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
‘You shall not covet your neighbour’s house. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or his servant, man or woman, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is his.’

Gospel

Matthew 13:18-23
The man who hears the word and understands it yields a rich harvest

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You are to hear the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom without understanding, the evil one comes and carries off what was sown in his heart: this is the man who received the seed on the edge of the path. The one who received it on patches of rock is the man who hears the word and welcomes it at once with joy. But he has no root in him, he does not last; let some trial come, or some persecution on account of the word, and he falls away at once. The one who received the seed in thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this world and the lure of riches choke the word and so he produces nothing. And the one who received the seed in rich soil is the man who hears the word and understands it; he is the one who yields a harvest and produces now a hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: July 25, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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If I remember correctly is was at the Passover Seminar where after registering my attendance I walked in and within a few minutes was asked by a special lady from the team if I could help them out. I said yes I would be glad to help in any way I could even if meant to keep the toilets clean though I did not mention the last bit to her. (chuckles) I was then issued a special ‘Passover’ name tag. During a break, I was teased by a few members of my Parish why it was that I had that special name tag on while they were not likewise issued the same? I jokingly replied “Can you drink this cup?” We laughed and soon the break was over and it was time to go back in.

But it stuck with me as a prompting to reflect more deeply on the words of Jesus who originally asked that very question. Are you prepared to suffer for my sake? To face persecution? To be wrongfully accused? Are you prepared to die if need be for my flock which I will entrust to you? Are you prepared to get down on your hands and knees if need be? To get yourself grimy, dirty and soaked in perspiration? Servant leadership is not simply a title or a fad nor does it come from a place of faux humility, it begs the answers to the above questions! Difficult and challenging as it is we are never cornered as St Paul mentions for Jesus our Lord will see us through it all. Dying for Him we will surely rise in Him. This is the conviction of our faith in the same spirit as mentioned in scripture – I believed, and therefore I spoke, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus to life will raise us with Jesus in our turn, and put us by his side and you with us.

Let us then give thanks and glorify the Lord our God, this day and every day by the way we live our lives for Him, with Him and in Him. Amen

St James the Apostle pray for us….

First reading

2 Corinthians 4:7-15 ·
Such an overwhelming power comes from God and not from us

We are only the earthenware jars that hold this treasure, to make it clear that such an overwhelming power comes from God and not from us. We are in difficulties on all sides, but never cornered; we see no answer to our problems, but never despair; we have been persecuted, but never deserted; knocked down, but never killed; always, wherever we may be, we carry with us in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus, too, may always be seen in our body. Indeed, while we are still alive, we are consigned to our death every day, for the sake of Jesus, so that in our mortal flesh the life of Jesus, too, may be openly shown. So death is at work in us, but life in you.
But as we have the same spirit of faith that is mentioned in scripture – I believed, and therefore I spoke – we too believe and therefore we too speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus to life will raise us with Jesus in our turn, and put us by his side and you with us. You see, all this is for your benefit, so that the more grace is multiplied among people, the more thanksgiving there will be, to the glory of God.

Gospel

Matthew 20:20-28
‘Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?’

The mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons to make a request of him, and bowed low; and he said to her, ‘What is it you want?’ She said to him, ‘Promise that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your kingdom.’ ‘You do not know what you are asking’ Jesus answered. ‘Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?’ They replied, ‘We can.’ ‘Very well,’ he said ‘you shall drink my cup, but as for seats at my right hand and my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted by my Father.’
When the other ten heard this they were indignant with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that among the pagans the rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: July 24, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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In this day and age when we read the Gospel we would probably say it is the story about an inefficient, wasteful and clueless sower. How can a sower not know the ground in which he plants his seed? How can precious seed be allowed to be wasted? Or to be left to chance that one in four will yield a crop?

Ah…now perhaps our eyes are opened a little to glimpse into the heart of the Lord our God Himself. To see just how precious we are to Him, that the seed (His Word) He scatters are seeds of hope and promise. How we receive this precious seed is what matters. Do we guard it? Do we fight to protect it? Do we nurture and care for it? How can we return to the Lord a hundredfold the seed He planted in our hearts? So what if we are successful in life? How many souls have we saved? How much have we contributed to building up His Kingdom? Jesus did not come for the successful, the well to do, he came for us, sinners, ‘failures’. So that He can raise us up to be counted amongst the Saints in Heaven.

So then do we go on complaining about how little we have or how hard we have it? Or instead with grateful hearts be thankful to the Lord our God for all that we have. To be ever so grateful and thankful for the most precious gift He has bestowed upon us, the bread of life come down from Heaven. Now and forevermore. Amen

First reading

Exodus 16:1-5,9-15 ·The Lord sends quails and manna from heavenFrom Elim they set out, and the whole community of the sons of Israel reached the wilderness of Sin – between Elim and Sinai – on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt. And the whole community of the sons of Israel began to complain against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness and said to them, ‘Why did we not die at the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we were able to sit down to pans of meat and could eat bread to our heart’s content! As it is, you have brought us to this wilderness to starve this whole company to death!’ Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Now I will rain down bread for you from the heavens. Each day the people are to go out and gather the day’s portion; I propose to test them in this way to see whether they will follow my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they have brought in, this will be twice as much as the daily gathering.’ Moses said to Aaron, ‘To the whole community of the sons of Israel say this, “Present yourselves before the Lord, for he has heard your complaints.”’ As Aaron was speaking to the whole community of the sons of Israel, they turned towards the wilderness, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the form of a cloud. Then the Lord spoke to Moses and said, ‘I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel. Say this to them, “Between the two evenings you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have bread to your heart’s content. Then you will learn that I, the Lord, am your God.”’ And so it came about: quails flew up in the evening, and they covered the camp; in the morning there was a coating of dew all round the camp. When the coating of dew lifted, there on the surface of the desert was a thing delicate, powdery, as fine as hoarfrost on the ground. When they saw this, the sons of Israel said to one another, ‘What is that?’ not knowing what it was. ‘That’ said Moses to them ‘is the bread the Lord gives you to eat.’

Gospel

Matthew 13:1-9A sower went out to sowJesus left the house and sat by the lakeside, but such large crowds gathered round him that he got into a boat and sat there. The people all stood on the beach, and he told them many things in parables. He said, ‘Imagine a sower going out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell on the edge of the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on patches of rock where they found little soil and sprang up straight away, because there was no depth of earth; but as soon as the sun came up they were scorched and, not having any roots, they withered away. Others fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Others fell on rich soil and produced their crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Listen, anyone who has ears!’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: July 23, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Are you a member of God’s family? It is not enough to say that I am a child of God so loved by my heavenly Father. My response to His abounding love must always be to do His Will. To love Him with all my heart, mind, strength and soul. And to love my neighbour, who may not be connected to me by blood or water. Only then can I truly say that I belong to God’s family. And the Lord our God is always there for His family. Through all difficulties and challenges He will make a way for us.

We become powerful instruments of His grace for others when we devote ourselves to doing His Will. Because of His great love for us He gives us the opportunity and allows us to participate, even to wield His power to bring about good for others. In a deeper sense we are co-redeemers, for He Wills that all be gathered unto His Son our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This is our call, this is our mission.

Let us therefore choose to always remain steadfast, faithful and obedient unto Him. Now and forever. Amen

First reading

Exodus 14:21-15:1 ·
The crossing of the Red Sea

Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove back the sea with a strong easterly wind all night, and he made dry land of the sea. The waters parted and the sons of Israel went on dry ground right into the sea, walls of water to right and to left of them. The Egyptians gave chase: after them they went, right into the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
In the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and of cloud, and threw the army into confusion. He so clogged their chariot wheels that they could scarcely make headway. ‘Let us flee from the Israelites,’ the Egyptians cried. ‘The Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians!’
‘Stretch out your hand over the sea,’ the Lord said to Moses, ‘that the waters may flow back on the Egyptians and their chariots and their horsemen.’
Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and, as day broke, the sea returned to its bed. The fleeing Egyptians marched right into it, and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the very middle of the sea. The returning waters overwhelmed the chariots and the horsemen of Pharaoh’s whole army, which had followed the Israelites into the sea; not a single one of them was left. But the sons of Israel had marched through the sea on dry ground, walls of water to right and to left of them.
That day, the Lord rescued Israel from the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. Israel witnessed the great act that the Lord had performed against the Egyptians, and the people venerated the Lord; they put their faith in the Lord and in Moses, his servant.
It was then that Moses and the sons sang this song in honour of the Lord:

Gospel

Matthew 12:46-50
My mother and my brothers are anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven

Jesus was speaking to the crowds when his mother and his brothers appeared; they were standing outside and were anxious to have a word with him. But to the man who told him this Jesus replied, ‘Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?’ And stretching out his hand towards his disciples he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: July 22, 2019 by CatholicJules in Life's Journeys
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Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven–as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little. Luke 7:47

You and I, we are sinners and yet in His great love and mercy our Lord Jesus Christ saw us fit to receive His mercy and love. This very act of His love for us has transformed our hearts such that we can sing with joy that we have found Him whom our hearts love. Go and sin no more He tells us and so how our heart breaks with each time we lose sight of Him and fall back into sin. Have you seen him whom my heart loves?

Let us choose to stay focused on our love for Him and our mission that we should go and tell our sisters and brothers that He is here with us. The Risen Lord seeks to gather us all unto Himself. And one day soon we will be reunited with Him in paradise. Amen Alleluia!

St Mary Magdalene pray for us….

First reading

Song of Songs 3:1-4 ·

The bride says this:

On my bed, at night, I sought him
whom my heart loves. I sought but did not find him. So I will rise and go through the City; in the streets and in the squares I will seek him whom my heart loves. I sought but did not find him. The watchmen came upon me on their rounds in the City: ‘Have you seen him whom my heart loves?’
Scarcely had I passed them when I found him whom my heart loves.

Gospel

John 20:1-2,11-18
‘Mary, go and find the brothers and tell them’

It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’
Meanwhile Mary stayed outside near the tomb, weeping. Then, still weeping, she stooped to look inside, and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, the other at the feet. They said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ ‘They have taken my Lord away’ she replied ‘and I don’t know where they have put him.’ As she said this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not recognise him. Jesus said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him.’ Jesus said, ‘Mary!’ She knew him then and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbuni!’ – which means Master. Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and find the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ So Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her.

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